Double Trouble Is Not A Real Therapist, They Just Play One On TV
by ChissHansen
Summary: Set during a possible Season 5, written just after watching Season 4 so spoilers. Our heroes use an uneasy truce with the Horde to repair their strained relationships with the help of a shapeshifting con artist. On a Temporary Hiatus due to illness. Rated T for Crude Humor, Violence, Drug Use and Mature Subject Matter
1. Catra, Session 2

"This is so stupid," Catra said lying against the unnaturally comfy Brightmoon couch.

"Now, Kitten, I understand your trepidation," Adora assured, writing on a notepad from their fancy chair, "But I believe we had a major breakthrough during our last session on V-Day."

"Breakthrough?!" Catra shouted, "You betrayed me to Lord Hordak. He tried to kill me. You betrayed the entire Horde and left me for dead."

"Now, now, Kitten, we're not going to get anywhere if you continue playing the blame game," scolded the blonde warrior, clicking their tongue, "Today we are focusing on *your* mistakes, and more positively, your recent successes."

"What I don't understand is why *I'm* here," asked the real Adora lying down on a couch next to Catra.

"That is a very good question, Adora," replied Double Trouble switching from Adora into Catra's form, "Tell me, why did you come here today? We certainly didn't force you."

"Glimmer said she wanted to talk," Adora answered, "I thought this was about her apologizing for activating the Heart of Etheria and bringing us all under the heel of Horde Prime."

"Ah, yes. I have a session between you and Glimmer scheduled in an hour," DT explained as Catra checking their timepiece, "But I thought it would be helpful if you joined us for Catra's session first."

"Yeah, and try to watch your mouth around here, Adora," the real Catra warned, "If Hordak had ears everywhere, there's no telling what resources Horde Prime has."

"That is a very good point, Kitten," DT congratulated, transforming into Queen Glimmer, "In fact, Glimmer is what I would like to talk about. Catra, I am to understand you interceded on Glimmer's account at great risk to save her life from Horde Prime. Could you tell us about that?"

"Wait," Adora asked Catra, "You did?"

"It wasn't some self sacrifice bull honky or anything," Catra screamed, "Horde Prime was going to destroy all of Etheria if I couldn't convince him it was valuable to him. Turns out your stupid Princess super weapon may have saved us all."

"The Heart of Etheria is the whole reason we're in this mess," grumbled Adora, "And what happened to letting all of Etheria be destroyed because that means you win?"

"I think Adora has a good point, Kitten," DT observed, "I think it is good to compare your recent actions to your actions in the fright zone when the portal device was activated."

"How was I supposed to know the portal device was going to destroy Etheria?" Catra complained, pointing at Adora, "You were the only one saying it was dangerous, and it's not like I was going to trust you. You would have said anything to stop us from opening it."

"Now, Kitten, if we're going to progress, you need to be honest," DT scolded again as Adora, "Adora wasn't the only one saying the Portal was dangerous, was she?"

"Uggh," groaned Catra, "Entrapta..."

"Yes, Entrapta," DT encouraged, switching to a short scientist with gigantic purple pigtails, "Why did you banish me to Beast Island, Catra?"

"Because you were a niaive child!" Catra shouted, "You couldn't really know what would happen. You were just going with whatever your old pal Adora said. You betrayed us."

"Oh my, I betrayed you," DT gasped, placing Entrapta's hands against their cheeks, "Wait, that doesn't make sense. According to my Daaay-ta, I have been nothing but accommodating to you. When you captured me, I gave you aaall my information on the technology of the First Ones, I used the Black Garnet to depower the other princesses, allowing you to attack Brightmoon, I even halped you convince Hordak to promote you to be his second in command."

"That was all just an excuse for you to worm your way into his good graces," Catra accussed, "You were working to supplant me from the very beginning."

"I don't know, Catra," Adora corrected, "I don't think Entrapta is capable of that kind of subterfuge. Have you ever known her to not instantly say what was on her mind?"

"Adora, please," DT interrupted, turning into their natural lizard-like form, "Let's not speculate on the intentions of someone who's not really here. I want to focus on concrete actions and their effects."

Double Trouble transformed back into Entrapta and returned their attention to Catra, "Aaaanyways, what makes you think I was trying to supplant you, Catra?"

"Hordak didn't trust me, Hordak didn't even trust Shadow Weaver," Catra explained, "But he was doting over you like a pet. He let you into his sanctum, he let you hover over his throne like a concubine."

"Wait a minute," Adora asked, "You don't think Hordak and Entrapta were..."

"No, the man is a total virgin," Catra corrected.

"Do you really think that, Catra?" DT questioned.

"Of course he is," Catra confirmed, "He spent all day in his lab until the battle of Salineas, and then after that, it was a non-stop tour of duty against the rebellion. I don't know what his biology is, but I wouldn't be surprised if Horde Prime's clones aren't even capable of that sort of thing."

"Fascinating," DT said, switching to their lizard form and scribbling on their notepad, "That is going to be very helpful to know when I see him with Entrapta next week."

"But, Glimmer told me Hordak was sent to be reconditioned by Horde Prime," Adora said in confusion.

"He did, but I convinced Horde Prime that his mind was more valuable untarnished until he and Entrapta have finished fixing your sword," Catra explained, "He and Entrapta are the experts at First Ones Tech after all."

"My sword?" Adora shouted, getting up from the couch, "But that will activate the Heart of Etheria again!"

"Yeah, no duh!" Catra said, "Remember when I said your stupid planet buster is the only thing keeping us all alive."

"I need to go," Adora said, "We need to stop it."

"Adora, I told you to watch you mouth around here," Catra scolded, "Horde Prime hears all, remember."

"I think that is a good place to end our session for today," Double Trouble said, putting away their notepad, "But before we leave, I would like both of you to give each other a compliment."

Catra and Adora both looked at Double Trouble before turning back to each other.

"Thank you for saving Glimmer and Etheria," Adora said, "I'm happy to see you're trying to be a better person."

"I..." Catra stuttered, "I like what you've done with your hair. It looks nice, loose like that."

Adora and Catra hugged for the first time since Adora left the Horde for good. Double Trouble held in a sniffle as Adora kissed Catra on the cheek.

"I love you, Catra," Adora said.

"I know," Catra answered.

"You will receive my bill in the mail," Double Trouble told the two of them before pushing them both out the door, "NEXT!"

DT's notes

Catra Session 2

-Still blames me for Hordak's attempt on her life, *Eyeroll Emoticon* fair  
-Catra cares about Adora's safety from Horde Prime's wrath, progress?  
-Catra believes her actions with Horde Prime to be pragmatic and self serving  
-Attempted to point out previous self-destructive behavior to contrast with said pragmatism  
-Subject very good at deflecting, will try a different tactic next session  
-Paranoid distrust of Princess Entrapta, coworker rivalry  
-Hordak, romantic feelings? Will need to think of how to approach this  
-Side note for Subject Hordak, possibly Ken Doll, resulting to frustration and fear of intimacy?  
-To be honest, I was sort of distracted by that last point and was starting to blank out, so I ended the session.  
-Adora and Catra make a cute couple, more sessions together recommended  
-So far neither subject has questioned my non-existent credentials as a trained psychiatrist  
-Remember to tape Frasier for next week.


	2. Mermista, Session 1

"It's like... what was the point of it all?" Mermista groaned from her bathtub.

"There, there, my sweet anchovy, just let it all out," said the pirate captain sitting on the lip as he held her drooping hand with both of his own.

"What do you mean by 'it all'?" asked Queen Glimmer from their chair, drawing on their notepad.

"The Princess alliance, the whole freaking war, everything!" Mermista screamed into her free hand as it covered her face in shame, "Everything we did and it didn't make a damn bit of difference!"

"Some would argue your actions protected many innocent civilians," Queen Glimmer said encouragingly, "Did you not save lives when you were working with the Princess Alliance?"

"Save them for what?" Mermista asked, "To be oppressed for all time by the Horde until Horde Prime decides to blow us all up when we've outlived our usefulness?"

"You don't approve of the Queen's peace accord with Horde Prime?" Queen Glimmer asked.

"Peace accord?!" Mermista spat out, "This isn't peace, this is a hostage situation. I'm literally ruling a ruin with a gun pointed at my head from orbit."

"And a fine job you are doing at that, my queen, especially given these dire circumstances," Seahawke cheered.

"It's like..." Mermista said solemnly, "If I just stayed in Salineas and did nothing, there might have been a Salineas left to go back to."

"Oh, my darling, please don't say that!" Seahawke gasped, kneeling down to face the mermaid, "You and I both know that those Horde scoundrels would have attacked our home no matter what we did."

"*My* home!" emphasised Mermista, pulling her hand away from Seahawke and giving him an angry glare.

"I am to understand that Horde Prime has offered to rebuild Salineas in recompense for his... ahem... 'brother's misdeeds'," Queen Glimmer informed their clients.

"Oh, greaaaat," moaned Mermista sarcastically, "Salineas rebuilt in Horde Prime's *perfect* image. Just what I always wanted. Nooooo, thank you."

"Oh, my love, I understand things will be difficult for a while," Seahawke cooed, putting both hands over the lip of the bathtub and poking his head over the edge, "But perhaps we can ask Queen Glimmer or the big Scorpion lady for help. We are all supposed to be allies now after all."

"I think your boyfriend makes a very good point," Queen Glimmer offered, "I would recommended staying closely connected with your friends and family and keeping up with social engagments."

"Oh, no. Seahawke's not my-" Mermista began before stopping herself, "Whatever. Fine. Stay in touch with the other princesses. Got it. But can you, like, prescribe me some like... happy pills or something?"

"I'm afraid I'm not that kind of therapist," Queen Glimmer informed Mermista.

"Well then, what good are you?!" shouted Mermista angrily, turning her tail into a pair of human legs and jumping out of the bathtub, "Come on, Seahawke, we're leaving."

"Oh, okay then," Seahawke said, quickly getting up off his knees, "Oh, I know what will cheer you up. I will bring you the biggest hot-tub I can find and install it into your throne room, so you just lie back all day and eat your favorite ice cream to your heart's content."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Mermista asked, staring daggers into her companions eyes, "The Biggest? Are you saying I'm getting fat?"

"Well um-no, Of c-course not," Seahawke stammers, slowly following his companion out the door, "But you know I would still love you passionately no matter what shape your body took, right?"

"Uggh, I know..." Mermista groaned loudly from the hallway.

Queen Glimmer transformed into Double Trouble's normal lizard-like form and closed the door behind their clients.

"Princesses..." Double Trouble dryly commented.

DT's notes

Mermista, Session 1

\- *A delicately drawn portrait of Seahawke standing with one leg on a large rock, minus his shirt.*  
\- Adventure Hoe!


	3. Glimmer, Session 1

Queen Glimmer pouted as she stomped into the room and crossed her arms as she sat down at the foot of the couch. She looked at the chair in front of her.

"Adora, get out of that seat," Glimmer ordered, "The therapist will be here any minute now."

"Hmm? Oh, right," answered Adora, looking over their notepad before changing shape into a lizard creature, "Sorry, I should have mentioned. Adora will not be joining us for this session, she had a sudden cancellation."

"What?" Glimmer asked angrily, "Did she say why?"

"As far as I can tell, it had something to do with stopping Hordak and Princess Entrapta from fixing her sword," Double Trouble exposited, "I believe she was arguing about it with Catra when she left."

"Uggh, I need to get after her. If it looks like we're going against Horde Prime, he's going to kill us all," Glimmer said, moving towards the door, "I'm sorry, I'm going to need to cancel, too."

"Fine by me, your majesty," replied Double Trouble, not looking up from her notes, "I'll be billing you for this time either way. That is... if you don't trust Catra to handle Adora by herself."

Glimmer's eyes narrowed at the lizard creature in front of her. Double Trouble met her eyes with a diplomatic smile. After a few seconds, their tongue snapped against their eye before it quickly went back into their mouth.

"Graaah, fine," Glimmer groaned before sitting back down on the couch, "So what are going to do now? The whole point of this was to fix things between me and Adora."

"Well, I think we can still get started on that," Double Trouble said, changing back into Adora, "We'll just need to focus on what you want to say to her. Or for now, me."

"Grrr," sighed Glimmer as she closed her eyes and held her head low for a few seconds before lifting her head to meet 'Adora''s eyes, "I'm sorry things got so out of hand between us."

"Oh, you mean when you ordered me to ignore a friend's cry for help?" Adora asked sternly, "Or how about when you went behind my back to activate the Heart of Etheria without my consent so my body would be literally violated by Light Hope? Or what about when you surrendered all of our forces to Horde Prime?"

"That wasn't what I wanted to happen!" shouted Glimmer angrily, "I was just doing what I thought was best for our people! That's what Queens do!"

"Okay, Glimmer?" Adora said, turning back into Double Trouble and holding their hand out, "I'm going to stop you right there. This is what we in the biz call escalation and it's just going make things worse between you two."

"I'm sorry," Glimmer said, hanging her head in shame, "You were so much like her, I couldn't stop myself."

"That's the point," Double Trouble informed Glimmer, "It's probably for the best Adora wasn't here, because we really need to work on your apology skills."

"What do you mean *my* apology skills?" Glimmer demanded.

"My Queen, please. Don't shoot the messenger," Double Trouble replied calmly, holding out their hand, "I'm trying to help you, here."

"Are you, though?" Glimmer asked, standing up. "Because now that I think of it, you're the whole reason we're at each other's throats in the first place. This was a mistake."

"Honey, you and Adora were having problems looong before I went anywhere near that mess," Double Trouble scolded, waving their finger for maximum sass, "Why else do you think your relationship made for such a juicy target?"

"Arrrgh!" Glimmer screamed into her fists before falling backwards onto the couch, unable to argue against them.

"Do you need a minute?" Double Trouble asked.

"No..." moaned Glimmer.

"Good," said Double Trouble, "Now Glimmer, when we apologize, we are making a promise to change ourselves in the hopes that whatever we are apologizing for doesn't happen again. Which means you can't truly apologize until you admit what exactly it was you did wrong. And I do mean 'exactly'. You need to be very specific when you say what you're sorry for. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Uggh, yeah, I think I get it," Glimmer said dejectedly.

"Do you think you're ready to try again?" asked Double Trouble.

Glimmer took in a deep breathe and exhaled slowly before saying, "Okay, I'm ready."

Double Trouble transformed back into Adora and held their hands uncomfortably against their knees looking slightly nervous.

"Hello, Glimmer," Adora asked, "What did you want to say to me?"

"Adora," Glimmer said, taking a moment to close her eyes and breathe again before continuing, "I'm sorry I brought Scorpia to the Fright Zone and activated the Heart of Etheria. I never meant for any of this to happen. I should have trusted you when it came to She-Ra and the First Ones."

"That's beautiful, Glimmer," Adora said before turning back into Double Trouble, "Adora, would you like to come out now?"

The real Adora side stepped nervously from behind a water feature.

"Double Trouble..." Adora stuttered, "They asked me to hide behind this thing to hear you apologize."

"Adora?" Glimmer said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Me and Bow went behind your back to rescue Entrapta," Adora apologized.

"Are you kidding?!" Glimmer cried, "If you didn't go, then you wouldn't have found my Dad. I know I never got to see him before he and Bow left for the Whispering Woods, but just knowing he's alive has been such a joy. You don't have anything to apologize for, Adora. This is all my fault."

Glimmer ran up to Adora and gave her a hug, burying her head in Adora's chest.

"So, my Queen," Adora asked, "what do we do now?"

"Sigh... The princesses can't do anything while Horde Prime controls Etheria," Glimmer explained, "Bow and my Dad will be trying to form a resistance movement against the Horde. Since we're the ones they're going to be resisting, the less we know, the better. All we can do now is survive."

"Survive," Adora repeated, "I think I can handle that."

"It's not going to be easy," Glimmer said, "Horde Prime holds all the cards on Etheria. We've lost."

"We might have lost the war," Adora said reassuringly, "But we haven't lost our home yet. You and Catra made sure of that."

"I think it would be best if you both continued this discussion somewhere private," Double Trouble informed the two crying women, "I have other clients who want to see me."

DT's notes

Glimmer, Session 1

\- Serious case of Micromanaging Control Freak, needs to learn to depend on others  
\- May need to look at Anger management techniques to give her, too  
\- Possible Napoleon Complex  
\- I was right to hide Adora, she was about to screw this up sooo badly.  
\- Apologizing was much better on the second try.  
\- Sweet Etheria, this job is better than a thousand falling children.  
\- There is absolutely zero chance the princesses are secretly supporting an underground resistance movement to overthrow the Horde.  
\- I am totally a real psychological therapist btw


	4. Hordak, Session 1

"That is not my name," corrected the green-eyed bat-creature lying stiffly on the couch and staring blankly at the ceiling, with his arms folded against his chest, "I designated Horde Unit Alpha Kappa One Three One Four Five. I am the loyal servant of my brother, Horde Prime."

"It's been so bad, Doctor," the petite engineering princess with gigantic purple pigtails said, looking nervously at the still body in front of her, "I thought if we both started working together again, he would get better. But he's been getting sloppy, dropping equipment, making basic math mistakes, causing delays... He's just not the same man I met in the Fright Zone."

"That is another incorrect designation," coldly stated the clone formerly known as Hordak, "Horror Hall is the domain of the Princess Scorpia, loyal servant to my brother, Horde Prime. As to my working deficiencies, I apologize again, Princess Entrapta. There was a defect in my body during cloning. I am a failure."

"Stop saying that," Entrapta scolded, "My armor should be compensating for all your physical deficiencies. So obviously the problem must with your brain."

"That is logical," stated Horde Alpha Kappa, with no trace of emotion, "It is possible my problems are a result of my interrupted reconditioning."

"So that's why we came to you, Doctor," Entrapta told the lizard creature in front of them both, "I am a genius when it comes to robots and artificial intelligence, but a biological computer is far outside my scope of expertise."

"You mean his mind?" Double Trouble asked to confirm.

"Of course!" Entrapta shouted loudly, "What else would I be talking about? So what's wrong with him, Doctor?"

"Well, firstly," Double Trouble explained, "I'm not a Doctor, I'm a therapist. And secondly, I do agree that Horde Prime's 'reconditioning' may be-"

Double Trouble stopped to look at the Horde clone in front of them. The clone continued staring blankly at the ceiling, but for a second, they thought they saw him turn to look at Entrapta. Double Trouble quickly scribbled something on their notepad.

"Sorry, I thought I saw something outside," apologized Double Trouble, "What I meant to say was-"

Double Trouble's pen slipped out of their fingers and flew directly towards the horde clone's face. Hordak didn't even flinch as, like a thunderbolt, his arm sprung into action and caught the pen in mid-air. Double Trouble thought she heard a small snarl from behind the fist as the hand slowly gave the pen to the princess beside it before returning to the clone's chest.

"I'm so sorry," Double Trouble apologized again, "I must be so clumsy today."

"That's okay," replied Entrapta, cheerily handing the pen back to Double Trouble, "You should see that accidents I get up to on a regular basis! It isn't a good day until something explodes."

"As I was saying," Double Trouble said, as they began scribbling again on their notepad, "I think you are correct in your assessment that this 'reconditioning' may have had a traumatic effect on Hor- Horde Alpha Kappa's psyche. He certainly has symptoms similar to post traumatic stress disorder. I also agree in your approach of acclimating him to normal life. I just don't think you're going far enough."

"Oooo," cooed Entrapta, her eyes aglow with interest, "What do you suggest?"

"What did Hordak like to do when you were together?" Double Trouble asked, "Did he have any hobbies or entertainment that he liked?"

"Oh, I don't know," Entrapta said, tapping her chin in thought, "There was working on the portal device together, which is sort of like what we're doing already with She-Ra's sword. There was fixing his armor, which I'm still doing constantly. Oh, and there was that other thing I liked to do with him... but I kinda don't want to do that until he gets better."

Double Trouble noticed Hordak's eyes dilate and a bead of sweat drop down his face.

"What about without you?" Double Trouble asked Entrapta, "Did he have any other friends or acquantinces?"

"Oh, well, he had the entire Horde answering to him," Entrapta answered, "He was their leader after all."

"I am not a leader," Hordak said, his usually emotionless voice cracking with a twinge of anger, "I am a failure. Hordak's crimes are a direct result of my defects."

"Are you saying you regret the actions you took as Hordak, leader of the Horde?" Double Trouble asked the clone.

"Yes," replied Hordak, with a slight tone of sadness, "Absolutely."

"In that case, might I recommend getting in touch with those you harmed and offering to make amends?" suggested Double Trouble, "Perhaps-"

"Oh! I know the perfect subject for that experiment!" Entrapta shouted giddily as her hair wrapped itself around Hordak and picked him up.

"Wait, we're not done yet," Double Trouble said, getting up with Entrapta.

"I know!" Entrapta said as she bolted out the door, cackling like a mad child, "I'll let you know when I collect the data!"

"I'm still going to bill you for the full time!" shouted Double Trouble after them.

"Don't Care!" Entrapta shouted back.

DT's notes

Hordak, Session 1

-Possibly in shock from traumatic events regarding his "reconditioning"  
-Who am I kidding? I have no idea what this species is like. For all I know, this *is* normal for him.  
-Wait a second, is this guy faking it? I'm going to try something.  
-Totally faking it. He's a good actor. I'm better.  
-Okay, but why is he faking it?  
-Yeah, this guy isn't giving us anything. Not unless I ask him directly.  
-Maybe we need to get this guy in a more casual setting. Somewhere very social where he's more likely to mess up.


	5. Scorpia, Session 1

"Wow, this bed is really comfy," observed Scorpia, sinking back into the couch.

"So, Princess Scorpia," Catra asked from their usual chair, "What brings you into my office today?"

"Mostly, everything's just been so confusing," Scorpia explained, "Like it seemed as though only yesterday I was leaving the Fright Zone forever, but now I'm back. Except I'm in charge now. And well... I don't think I can be the Princess of Horror Hall again."

"The ending of the war has been a big change for everyone," Catra said, reassuringly, "Aliens, Spaceships, Stars. It's normal you would feel unsure or uneasy during this period of adjustment."

"I mean, yeah, it's all been a big change," Scorpia said, "But that's what I expected when I decided to leave in the first place. I wanted to leave that part of my life behind me."

"And you feel you're being thrust back into a way of life you wanted to get away from?" Catra theorized.

"Exactly!" Scorpia said pointing a claw at Catra, "When Queen Glimmer asked me to go on a mission with her to connect me to the Black Garnet, I thought it would be just that... a mission. Go in, get superpowers, get out. I didn't expect to be staying there."

"What exactly about the Fright Zone makes you feel uncomfortable there?" Catra asked.

"Are you serious?" Scorpia said, "You've been there. You know what it was like."

"Yes, but I want to know what *you* disliked most about the Fright Zone," Catra explained.

"Well, it's mostly that... everyone had to be mean..." Scorpia said, "Like, all the time. Everyone had to be tough and strong and not care about each other, because if you did, even for a second, it made you look weak, which made you a target."

"You didn't seem to have that problem, from what I saw of you there," Catra observed.

"Well, yeah! I was already big and strong and tough," Scorpia explained, "I have armor and claws and old stingy here, so I could afford to be friendly there. I hoped I could be an example of what a good friend was, brave and loyal and helpful. Hoped that if I was nice to people, they could learn it was better then trying to tear each other down. But nothing ever really got better."

"So what made you finally decide to leave?" Catra asked.

"Well, Catra, really," answered Scorpia, looking tenderly at the catgirl across from her, "When I first saw her, she was just so cute and smart and pretty and I just wanted to hold her and squeeze the life out of her. I knew she just lost a friend recently and hoped that I could be that friend she needed. I thought if I could help this one person get better... to *be* better... everything would be worth it."

"And when she didn't..?" Catra encouraged, writing on their notepad.

"I'd just keep trying," Scorpia said, "I thought I was finally getting through to her when she was banished to the Crimson Wastes. When we both went out there, it was like a breath of fresh air... mostly because the air actually *was* much fresher than in the Fright Zone. Being in the Horde, it... hurt. Really hurt. But because it hurt all the time, I never really noticed until I finally got away. But then, she wanted to go back."

Scorpia frowned as she looked down past her stomache as though she was comtemplating her two-toed boots.

"It broke my heart to see her so happy and then just go right back to being Force Captain Catra," Scorpia continued, "But I thought we were finally making progress and I didn't want to give up on her."

"Tell me Scorpia, have you ever heard of the Sunk-Cost Fallacy?" Catra asked.

"No, what is that?" Scorpia asked.

"It's a bit too lengthy to go over during our session," Catra explained, "I'll give you some reading material to look at on your own time."

"Oh, that's great," said Scorpia with sincerity, "I like to read. Reconnaissance reports, production schedules, supply inventories, you name it."

"So let's get back to the question at hand," said Catra, making a note on her notepad, "What was it that finally convinced you to leave Catra and the Horde?"

"When she stabbed Entrapta in the back with a stun baton," Scorpia said flatly, "It just took me the longest time to process it all. We were all friends. She was helping us. Everyone loved her. Hordak loved her and he doesn't like anybody. And Catra sent her to Beast Island. I still don't understand why she did it. She kept saying Entrapta betrayed us, but nothing about it made any sense. The fact that she would hurt someone so... pointlessly. It scared me. It reminded me about everything I hated about the Horde."

"And that's when you finally left?" Catra guessed.

"Well, yeah, basically," Scorpia answered, "It took a long time to prepare and it hurt to do it. But I finally packed up my things and left with Emily and I promised to never go back after rescuing Entrapta from Beast Island. So much for that, I guess."

"Well, Scorpia, I know it doesn't feel like it," Catra exposited, "But *you* are the one with power now. You're in charge of what your kingdom gets to be now. That puts you in a very rare position that most Etherians never get to be in. Normally, people need to change to adapt to their environment, but you can change your environment to adapt to you."

"So what?" Scorpia said, in confusion, "You think I can just order people to be kind?"

"Well, not as simple as that, no," replied Catra, "But there are many ways you can incentivise behavior as a head of state. A comprehensive judicial and legal system, tax penalties and breaks, standardized education and media propaganda. I'll write down a reading list for you on Political and Economic Theory. You should probably be learning about this stuff anyway."

"Yeah, you're right," Scorpia said, "There are a ton of changes I could make. Horde Prime has his fleet so we don't really need an army anymore. We can probably slow down production in our factories to cut down on the pollution. Even the name Fright Zone always sounded harsh to me. I know Horde Prime wants me to rename it back anyway because it's a reminder of Hordak, but even Horror Hall seems a little too... severe. Maybe we can run some focus groups. Yeah, you know what, I think this has been really helpful. Thank you, DT."

"I'm glad to be of service, your highness," Catra said, looking at their timepiece, "We still have a few minutes, but we can end our session here, if you like."

"Actually, is it alright if I just stay and chat for a bit more?" Scorpia said, "I don't think we really got to know each other before I left the Horde."

"Oh, really?" Catra said in surprise, transforming back into Double Trouble, "Well, certainly. What would you like to talk about?"

"Can I ask about your whole shape-shifting deal?" Scorpia said, "I think that's so cool!"

DT's Notes

Scorpia, Session 1

-First session, I'm hoping this will be a chance to explore Scorpia's issues with codependency  
-Feelings of inadequacy in her new position?  
-Feels trapped in her current situation, will need to explore options for her to gain control of her life  
-As suspected, Catra is a major issue for her, may need to delve deeper in later sessions  
-Scorpia likes to read, will try to recommend books for her  
-Tried to get Scorpia to understand the benefits of her high status  
-Is it ethical to be influencing public policy under the guise of therapy?  
-Scratch that last point, I don't care  
-Apparently, I'm going to the Fright Zone for coffee next week.


	6. 1st Interlude, Double Date

The seaside restaurant on Salineas was one of the highest rated in Etheria before Hordak's attack on the Seagate reduced most of the kingdom to rubble. As it stands, the people were making do with what they had. Fancy waiters ducking around construction crews as the restaurant attempted to stay open despite it's heavy renovations. Mermista looked over the destruction with a look of detached annoyance. She had hoped to come back here when she felt like celebrating again, when there was something worth celebrating.

But her therapist told her to stay connected with her friends, and despite all the confusion during the war, Entrapta was still a friend. And she wanted to introduce her to the new coworker she was dating.

"Ah, there she is," called out Seahawke, pointing out the purple haired woman frantically waving in their direction.

"Okay, let's just get this over with," Mermista sighed, forcing herself to walk towards Entrapta's table.

Entrapta wore a lavender tuxedo to match her hair, with fancy black goggles covering her eyes. Her date wore a black tuxedo with red pinstripes fitted over a large suit of armor. His small tuft of black hair was straightened slick and combed to one side of his head. Mermista approached to two of them, and then immediately turned around when she got a good look at the man's grey batlike face and green eyes.

"Noooooooope..." Mermista called out as she began walking towards the exit.

"Mermista!" Entrapta said, getting up from the table, "Where are you going?"

"I am not dealing with this right now!" Mermista said loudly before purple tendrils entangled her and turned her around.

"Dealing with what?" Entrapta asked sincerely as she brought herself as close as possible to Mermista's face.

"Let go of me!" ordered Mermista, "I'm not having dinner with Hordak!"

"Oh, don't worry," said Entrapta, backing away and unwrapping her hair from Mermista, "He's not the same man as the one who blew up Salineas."

"So you just *happen* to be dating a clone of Horde Prime who just *looks* exactly like Hordak?" asked Mermista, unconvinced.

"Yes," answered Entrapta with a cheery grin, "That's because he *is* Hordak."

Mermista slumped her shoulders and gave Entrapta a look of exhaustion.

"Okay, you *just* said he's not the same man!" Mermista shouted in annoyance.

"Oh, yes, he's changed now," Entrapta explained, "Mr. Alpha Kappa, do you have something you wish to say to Mermista?"

Hordak got up from the table and bowed to the two princesses.

"Princess Mermista," Hordak said, not breaking the bow, "I wish to apologize for my actions against your people. I am a defect and a failure and I wish to make amends to you."

Mermista gulped and cringed as a smiling Entrapta wrapped a normal arm around her shoulder in encouragement.

"How..." Mermista stuttered, before pausing to regain her composure, forcing her discomfort into an angry glare, "And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Princess Entrapta had hoped we could discuss that over dinner," Hordak answered, not even raising his head to look at the princesses.

"Sure... fine..." Mermista said nervously, "You can... stop bowing now."

"As you wish, Princess," Hordak said, moving behind Entrapta's chair and holding it for her to sit down in.

As the four dinner guests sat down, a waiter with aquatic features approached their table.

"Good evening, your Majesties," the waiter greeted, "I hope you will forgive our service during renovations. May I interest you in the wine list?"

"I require copious amounts of your strongest intoxicants," stated Hordak immediately.

"Really?" scoffed Mermista, "Do we Princesses intimidate you that much? You need to get drunk just to tolerate being near us."

"That is correct," Hordak affirmed flatly.

Mermista felt her eye twitch.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," sighed Mermista before signalling the waiter, "Ditto!"

"Ho-ho, is that a challenge I see on the horizon?" cheered Seahawke, "The same for me as well!"

"Oh, this is the perfect chance to test it's effects on a wide variety of subjects," Entrapta theorized, "I'll have that, too!"

"Very well, your Majesties," the waiter said, with some hesitation, "A bottle of our... strongest."

As the waiter walked away, Entrapta and Seahawke both opened the food menus and began reading, while Hordak and Mermista stared at each other uncomfortably.

"So then," Mermista said, "Making amends?"

"Horde Prime wishes to use our resources to rebuild Salineas," Hordak explained.

"Yes, I've heard that pitch," Mermista replied, "Not interested."

"Horde Prime wants Salineas restored brick by brick to it's original form," Hordak continued, "However, Entrapta and I have had ideas for... improvements, if you would like us to suggest them."

"And what does Horde Prime want for such a... generous offer?" Mermista queried with hesitation.

"Nothing," Hordak answered flatly, "Horde Prime wants all trace of my attempted conquest of Etheria erased from existance."

"And what do you want, Hordak?" asked Mermista.

"I want what Horde Prime wants," answered Hordak, "Despite my defects, I am still his loyal servant and will follow his will to my uptmost ability... however lacking that may be."

"Uh-huh," said Mermista.

"I also meant it when I said I regret the actions I've taken against your people," said Hordak, solemnly.

An uncomfortable silence punctuated by the sounds of ongoing construction was interrupted by the waiter arriving with an irregularly shaped container glowing bright green.

"Your drink, your Majesties," said the waiter, opening the glowing green bottle, "Our strongest liquor: I believe this is..."

Unsure of how to describe the drink, the waiter took a whiff of the inside and began gagging into his sleeve.

"Ahem, it is green," the waiter finished, pouring the bottle into each of their wine glasses, keeping his nose a safe distance away.

"Would anyone like to propose a toast?" asked Hordak.

Mermista raised her glass, "To Salineas."

"For Salineas!" cheered the other three diners, clinking their glasses together and taking a drink.

"Hoo-boy," weezed Seahawke in a pitch several octaves higher than normal, "That stuff has quite the kick."

"Gak," choked Entrapta, who then examined to glowing fluid in her glass, "Faaaascinating."

"Blaaaarg!" loudly burped Mermista as she stared blanky into space.

Hordak contiously gulped his drink until the glass was empty and carefully placed it on the table. A second later, his face twitched and blinked and his eyes turned from bright green to a pale yellow.

"Yes, this will suit my purposes nicely," Hordak observed.

"So you're finally drunk enough to stand us now, huh?" said Mermista sarcastically.

"That was a lie," Hordak answered flatly.

"Thought so," said Mermista before turning to the side, "Hey, waiter! More of this stuff!"

"I meant needing liquor to tolerate you," growled Hordak in open frustration, "The truth is this may be the only chance for me to speak candidly to all of you, so if you would. Please. Attend. Carefully."

"Hordak?" Entrapta said, pulling her goggles off her eyes onto her forehead, "You're back?"

"I never left," Hordak replied, pouring more of the green drink into his cup, "Horde Prime still doesn't trust me. My brothers have been routinely scanning my brain for the slightest whiff of disloyalty."

"Why are you telling us all this?" asked Mermista.

"Because I intend not to remember tonight's events for my Brother to find later," Hordak exposited, taking another full drink of the disgusting alcohol.

"By jove, you are getting stone cold blackout drunk so you'll forget this whole night on purpose?" admired Seahawke, "I'm impressed, dear boy!"

"But our work," Entrapta asked with worry, "Your condition has been causing all the delays on She-Ra's sword."

"I am not delaying our work, Entrapta," Hordak explained, "I am *sabotaging* our work. My brother must not have access to the Etherian superweapon. I need you to understand that, Entrapta."

"But, what about our research?" Entrapta said.

"Our research cannot be used for Prime's purposes," Hordak demanded, placing a hand on her own, "This is too important for your scientific curiousity, Entrapta. This is about who becomes Master of the Universe. And it must *not* be Prime."

"I-I-" Entrapta stammered, looking to Mermista and Seahawke, who were both staring back wide eyed in shock.

"Entrapta, please, trust me," Hordak said, his voice calmer and smoother than it had ever been before in his life.

Entrapta stared into Hordak's eyes. His look of worry broke her heart and she had to look down at her lap to not cry.

"Okay, Hordak, I'll trust you," Entrapta finally said.

"Thank you, Entrapta," Hordak said with relief, "From this point on, it is I who will have to trust you now. I cannot do much while under Prime's control. You will have to the one to plan and coordinate with a resistance movement to overthrow my brother."

"I'm going to have to plan a revolution," Entrapta translated.

"That is correct, Entrapta," stated Hordak, a small smile of pride creeping across his lips.

"So that that whole thing about apologies and making amends was just another load too, right?" Mermista said.

"I meant every word," Hordak corrected, pouring himself another drink, "If I could do it all over again, I would have simply hidden away in Horror Hall and kept the Horde as far away from Etheria as possible. I cannot do much now, but whatever little I can get away with will be to help you remove my brother's influence from this world."

"Huzzah!" cheered Seahawke, patting Hordak on the shoulder, "Welcome to the Resistance, Hordak, my boy!"

Hordak gave the pirate beside him an angry glare. Seahawke took the hint and cautiously shuffled his chair an inch away from the bat creature.

"I'm going to have to plan a revolution," Entrapta repeated, staring into blank space.

"So what do we do now?" Mermista asked.

"I... don't actually know," said Hordak, after downing his third drink, "To be honest, I did not expect to stay fully conscious this long."

"I'm going to have to plan a revolution," Entrapta repeated a third time.

"It will be alright, Entrapta," Hordak said as reassuringly as he could, grabbing her hand with both of his, "I know you will not fail me. You were always the only one I could rely on."

"Wow," Entrapta said, "That... that can't be right. I'm not very reliable."

"It is and you are," Hordak said, "I was a fool to believe Catra. She told me you had betrayed us. Had I not listened to her I would have come after you immediately. I'm sorry, Entrapta, you are the only good thing that has happened in my life. I-"

Hordak stopped himself and looked to the other table guests beside him, who were both staring intently. Hordak hissed threateningly at the pirate and the mermaid until they both averted their gaze and suddenly became incredibly interested in their food menus and the complimentary bread. Hordak got out of his chair and knelt down beside Entrapta.

"Entrapta," he said confidently, "I love you."

"Waaaaaaaaaah!" cried Entrapta in an increasingly high pitch, her mouth and eyes opening wide with excitement.

"I think you might have broke her," Seahawke observed as Entrapta continued making her noise.

"I said something wrong, didn't I?" said Hordak with worry, "I'm sorry, Entrapta. I shouldn't have-"

Hordak was interrupted when a flurry of purple tackled him to the ground and locked her lips against his. The small princess moaned in delight as Hordak wrapped his arms around her waist. A waitress dropped a plate of dishes as she tripped over the two Horde scientists making out on the floor. The other patrons turned their heads to see what the commotion was about. Mermista took another swig of her drink.

"She... uh..." explained Mermista to the crowd, "*Really* likes those new Horde soldiers."


	7. Catra, Session 3

"So, we've started seeing each other again," Catra explained, "And Adora's much more... experienced... than when she was with the Horde."

"Well, it's not like I didn't try to get you escape with me, over and over again," Adora complained, "What was I supposed to do? Not talk to anyone else forever."

"No, you were supposed to come back!" Catra screamed back.

"Now, Catra, do you really think that's fair?" Double Trouble asked, "Adora is her own person able to make her own decisions."

"Thank you!" Adora said loudly to Double Trouble.

"Now Adora, I'm not here to take sides," Double Trouble scolded, "I'm supposed to help the two of you better understand each other."

"So who was it?" Catra sneered, "It was Sparkles, wasn't it? You slept with her, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't sleep with Glimmer," Adora said defiantly, "Well, I mean, I did, but that was only because I wasn't used to sleeping alone at first."

"I knew it!" Catra yelled, "Unbelievable!"

"It wasn't like that," Adora argued, "We literally just slept together in the same bed. That's all. Nothing happened... We may have cuddled at some point."

"I think we're getting a bit off top-" Double Trouble interjected.

"Oh, you just cuddled, huh?" Catra interrupted, "And I guess you never kissed anyone else, too, right?"

"Well, there was that time after the Battle of Plumeria," Adora recollected.

Catra shot Adora an angry glare. Double Trouble sighed dejectedly and wrote on their notepad.

"Look, it was just a heat of the moment thing," Adora explained, "Perfuma was just really excited to meet the new She-Ra. That's all."

"Yeah, I bet all the princesses just couldn't get enough of She-Ra," Catra scolded.

"Mermista sure didn't..." Adora mentioned absentmindedly.

"What?! The Mermaid Lady?" Catra shouted, "I thought she was with that crazy pirate guy."

"Oh, they have an open relationship," Adora explained, "Apparently, they like to have other people with them."

"Oh, yes, they most certainly do..." chuckled Double Trouble as they scribbled on their notepad.

Catra and Adora both stared at their therapist wide-eyed in shock.

"Blast," swore Double Trouble in worry, "Did I just say that out loud?"

"So, you cuddled with Sparkles, kissed Plant Girl and slept with the Mermaid and the Pirate Guy," Catra recited, "Anyone else I need to know about?"

"I... kind of... did it... with Huntara when we were going through the Crimson Wastes," said Adora with embarrassment, "But it was just casual and she stole all our stuff shortly afterward so that kinda soured any feelings I had for her."

"Oh, and that makes it soooo much better," said Catra sarcastically, "So that makes what? Four women and one dude?"

"Two dudes," Adora admitted, "Bow and I tried it one time. It wasn't a big deal or anything. He was just really nice and I wanted to see if I *could* do it with a boy by himself."

"Graaah..." Catra screamed into her claws, "Okay! So that's it, then? No one else?"

"Yes," Adora affirmed, "No one else."

"Now, Adora, remember: I can't help you if you're not honest," Double Trouble scolded, "Are you sure you're not forgetting anyone?"

"Huh?" Adora said, giving a confused look at Double Trouble, "Oh, right... I did forget about that."

"Forget about what?!" asked Catra angrily.

"After we captured Double Trouble..." Adora said, "I may have paid them to... pretend to be... you..."

"Oh, that was a lovely night," said Double Trouble, "I was still getting the hang of your character at the time, Kitten, but I think Adora was *very* satisfied with my performance."

Adora folded her arms under her legs and brought her head down between her knees in shame. Catra stared blankly at Double Trouble for a few seconds before turning back to Adora.

"I don't know why I'm okay with that," Catra said calmly, "But I am."

DT's notes

Catra, Session 3

-It looks like we'll be dealing with Catra's jealousy today.  
-No, it looks like we're not making any progress at all today.  
-Adora can get it.  
-In light of this new information, I should probably get tested again.  
-Sex Work is Work, everyone


	8. Mermista, Session 2

"So, it sounds like you both had a fun night," Adora commented from their chair.

"It was quite the rousing adventure!" shouted Seahawke, as he laid back on the couch cradling his head, "It was... greeeen... Now, if you'll excuse me, it would appear that the sound of my own voice is giving me a headache."

"Uggh..." groaned Mermista, lying on a separate couch and rubbing her temples, "Welcome to what I have to deal with every time you talk."

"Would you like to talk about it?" suggested Adora.

"What's to talk about?" said Mermista, "I did what you said, I went out to see a friend and meet her new boyfriend. We had dinner together, drank something that I am going to ban now, and we went out to the dock to hang out on Seahawke's boat."

"You didn't go sailing while drunk, did you?" Adora asked with worry.

"No, we never left the dock," Mermista said, "We just needed someplace to hide out after *someone* challenged one of my subjects to a duel on the street."

"I had to defend your honor!" Seahawke argued, "The vagrant needed to be taught a lesson for what he said about you. A collaborator? Really!"

"Hordak nearly killed him after you fell down drunk!" Mermista shouted, "Entrapta had to turn off his suit just to get him to stop clawing at him!"

"Truly... a brother in arms," whimpered Seahawke, wiping a tear from his eyes.

"Wait a minute," said Adora as they quickly transformed back into Double Trouble, "You went out with Hordak and Entrapta?!"

"Uggh," Mermista moaned, "It's not a big deal."

"You had close contact with the man single-handedly responsible for destroying your kingdom," Double Trouble explained, "It must have been very traumatic for you! Why would you want to gloss over this?"

"At first, I didn't want to be seen with him or have anything to do with him," Mermista said, "But I felt bad for Entrapta. We thought she died a while ago during a mission into the Fright Zone. Instead, we just left her with the Horde. I don't know which is worse. I figured if she could stand being his prisoner, I could stand being his dinner date for one night."

"So... what was he like?" Double Trouble asked, writing on their notepad.

"At first, he was stiff and creepy," Mermista said, "Then we got some drinks into him, then he was stiff, creepy and angry."

"Yeeesh..." Double Trouble recoiled, writing down another note down.

"But as we kept talking, I realized he was just another victim of the Horde," Mermista said, "That the war and conquest and anger was all he ever really knew in life. It still doesn't excuse all the horrible things he did and he has *a lot* to make up for before I can even think of forgiving him. But there and then, I thought there was still a chance I could, you know?"

"That's more than most people would do in your position," Double Trouble said, writing down another note, "I'm proud of you."

"When Seahawke knocked the candles into him and set him on fire," Mermista recalled, "I threw water at him immediately. I don't know if I would have done that a week ago. I think I would have just let him burn and I don't think I like being that person."

"I still feel his claw marks around my throat," Seahawke said whistfully as he tenderly stroked his neck.

"You set him on fire?!" Double Trouble asked Seahawke, "How did that happen?"

"He was playing around with a guitar," Mermista recalled, "And wobbling around the table like... well... a drunken sailor."

"I was serenading the happy couple!" Seahawke explained.

"It was depressing!" Mermista told Seahawke, "You kept singing about screwing everything up and how much you didn't want to die alone."

"I must admit my chanties have been getting somewhat melancholy as of late," Seahawke noted, stroking his chin.

"Speaking of melancholy, how are you feeling, Mermista?" asked Double Trouble, "I'm actually surprised you came back for our sessions after how our first one ended."

"Huh?" Mermista said, "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I really wasn't in a good mood that day. It's just that I didn't see the point of... doing anything really."

"And do you feel differently today?" theorized Double Trouble.

"Well, yeah," Mermista said, "When I saw you last week, it felt like I was going crazy. It was like everyone was fine with what was going on, except me. But after talking with Hordak and Entrapta, I realized that everyone's just acting that way because they don't know what else to do. Hordak convinced me to accept help in rebuilding Salineas and Entrapta's going to be bringing in some of her automatons from Dryl to help speed up construction. So things at least *feel* like they might be getting better now."

"Excellent, I'm happy that you're able to rely on your friend's support," Double Trouble commented, writing down another note, "Does this mean you want to continue with our sessions?"

"Uh, sure," Mermista said, "I mean I wouldn't have even gone out last night if I didn't take your advice. And even though it started awkward, it did make me feel better about... everything."

"I'm just happy I was able to help, your Highness," said Double Trouble, writing a quick note before putting their notepad away, "One more question, you didn't... swing... with Hordak and Entrapta did you?"

"Oh, no!" Mermista said, "We were drunk, but we weren't *that* drunk. Wait a second. Who told you that me and Seahawke were swingers?"

"You don't remember?" Double Trouble asked while gesturing to themself, "Princess Prom? I was wearing that big white fur jacket at the time?"

Mermista squinted as she examined Double Trouble more closely.

"Oh, yeah, that was you, wasn't it?" Mermista realized, "Wow, that feels like forever ago. That was a really good night. Well, until everything exploded."

"Yeah, it was..." Double Trouble reminisced.

~*~

DT's Notes

Mermista, Session 2  
\- Sweet Etheria, why is she back here?  
\- Substance abuse, self medicating for depression?  
\- On that note, I should really learn how to forge prescriptions  
\- Hordak! This session just got very interesting!  
\- Mermista is being very closed off, there's something she's not telling me.  
\- Side note: Hordak is an angry drunk, no surprise there  
\- Mermista is trying to practice forgiveness, I feel like I should be encouraging this  
\- Mermista is relearning to rely on her friends.  
\- Apparently my advice was helpful, I do know what I'm doing!

~*~

Addendum

Look at the person across from you now  
Feel the sweet spark of connection  
If you don't screw up this moment somehow  
Maybe you won't die alooone

Don't be too needy or bring up your ex  
Don't say the words: "Hitler Complex"  
Don't ever mention you've never had sex  
Trust me, I promise, we knooow

And now her defenses are starting to fall  
Smile and return her affection  
If you don't manage to ruin it all  
Maybe you won't die alooone

Oh, whoops!

Please stop the screaming and choking your friend  
Please get your hands- ack- off of my neck!  
If you haven't already blown the whole mood  
Maybe you won't die alooone  
Maybe you won't die alooone!


	9. Glimmer, Session 2

Glimmer entered the office tired and weary. It had been a long day of meetings and discussions. The darkness outside gave the empty room a haunted atmosphere. The magical laterns flickered, casting unnerving shadows on the walls. For a second, the mural of Queen Angela looked like it moved.

"Wait, there wasn't a mural there before," Glimmer noted.

"Hello, Glimmer," greeted Angela, stepping away from the wall.

"Yak!" screamed Glimmer as she teleported onto a chandelier in surprise, "...M-mom?!"

"Yes, it's me," Angela lied, "There is so much we need to talk about."

"Oh, Mom," cried Glimmer, dropping to the ground and running into the giant angel's arms, "I missed you so much."

"There, there, my sweet Glimmer," Angela said reassuringly, stroking the crying queen, "I missed you, too."

Glimmer cried into her mother's arms for a few seconds, then stopped herself. She pulled back and forcefully shoved the angel away.

"Stop this!" ordered Glimmer, "Stop it now!"

"I'm sorry, your Majesty," apologized Angela, shrinking in size to the lizard form of Double Trouble, "I had hoped the surprise would enhance the illusion."

"You tried to make me think you were my mother..." Glimmer snorted through her tears, her fists shaking in rage, "You're sick!"

"No, my queen, I'm an actor," explained Double Trouble, "And I'm trying to help you move on with your loss."

"You tried to make a fool out of me!" Glimmer screamed in anger, "What is wrong with you?"

"A number of things, it would appear," Double Trouble answered, "Actually, if you could tell me what specifically tipped you off, I'd appreciate the criticism."

"You mean besides the fact that my mother is dead and I already know I was meeting a shapeshifter this evening?" Glimmer asked sarcastically.

"Yes, obviously," Double Trouble replied sincerly.

"No, I'm not going to help you impersonate my Mom!" growled Glimmer in frustration, "Why are you even doing this in the first place?"

"Your mother is central to your worldview, your Majesty," Double Trouble explained, "She was your only parent for a very long time, she was your teacher and mentor, she was your direct commanding officer during the war. Even after her death, she is the leader you compare and contrast yourself against the most."

"Okay, I get it!" Glimmer shouted, "I'm still not over my mom's... disappearance. But I don't see how you pretending to be her is going to help."

"It's my main technique for therapy," Double Trouble continued, "Pretend to be the person the client's having issues with, converse with them as that person and help them understand the other person's grievances as well as their own from a non-biased perspective. Remember our previous session with Adora?"

"I still think that was a dirty move," Glimmer criticized, "Making me apologize to Adora when I didn't even know she was there."

"Are you and Adora still having problems?" Double Trouble asked.

"Well, I'm not happy that she's back with Catra," Glimmer said, hesitantly, "But... no, things between us seem to have gotten better."

"That's good to hear," said Double Trouble, "You see my point?"

"Yeah, fine," said Glimmer, "It's just... sooo creeeepy."

"We can try something else if you like," suggested Double Trouble, "How about you just lie down and relax for now?"

Glimmer went to the couch and did as she was told.

"Now then," said Double Trouble as they sat down in their chair and pulled out their notepad, "Why don't you tell me about the last memory you have of your mother?"

"As in, in person?" Glimmer asked, remembering the recording of her she saw during her coronation quest.

"Whatever you feel is appropriate," replied Double Trouble, writing something down.

"We were fighting the last time we talked to one another..." Glimmer recounted, "We always fought. It always seemed to be about the same things. The Horde was doing something horrible somewhere, I wanted to do something about it and Mom... didn't. In that case, Adora had been captured by the Horde and Hordak was about to open a portal in the Fright Zone. I wanted to rescue her. The same way she rescued me after Bow and I got snatched from the Princess Prom. My Mom wouldn't even lift a finger to help her."

"Do you really believe that?" asked Double Trouble, writing down another note.

"She told me to 'Come up with a reasonable plan or stay out of the way,'" growled Glimmer, shaking her fists in anger, "I knew what that meant. It didn't matter what I actually came up with. Unless the plan was meticulously crafted to make sure there was absolutely no risk to anyone at all, she was just going to stall until the Horde won. I wasn't going to let her sacrifice Adora. All she ever did was make concessions to the Horde. The only order she knew how to give was retreat. The Horde attacks our towns and cities, and we fall back. The Horde captures our friends and family and tortures them, and we fall back. The Horde gets to do whatever it wants and we just stand there and take it. I wasn't going to let that happen again. The line had to be drawn somewhere. At some point, someone had to say, 'This far, no further.' Someone had to make them... They needed pay for what they've done."

Glimmer crossed her arms and looked out the window outside. For a few moments, the room was silent, save for the scribbles of Double Trouble's notepad.

"And it didn't even matter," Glimmer realized, "Catra opened the portal. Horde Prime came anyway. I lost my mother and it's all my fault."

"What makes you say it's your fault?" Double Trouble asked.

"Scorpia told me what happened in the Fright Zone," Glimmer explained, "By the time we got there, Adora had already convinced Entrapta the Portal was dangerous. Entrapta would have been able to stop this whole thing from happening if Catra hadn't betrayed her. Catra used the fact that me and Shadow Weaver were there to lie to Hordak that Entrapta had betrayed the Horde."

"It sounds to me like Catra is the one at fault there," Double Trouble summerized, writing down another note.

"The point is if I did what my Mom said and just waited!" Glimmer shouted, "None of this would have happened!"

"You mean if people did things differently, it would lead to different outcomes? Who knew?!" Double Trouble asked in mock surprise, "You can't let yourself get bogged down by how everything *could* have gone down. Maybe Entrapta would have convinced Hordak not to open the portal. Maybe Hordak would have convinced her the opposite. Maybe Catra would have opened it no matter what happened. Maybe if you had something different for breakfast that day, a butterfly would have flown in a different direction and redirected a hurricane into the Fright Zone."

"Y'know... I know you're just trying to help," Glimmer said with a twinge of accusation, "But your tone really isn't making me feel better."

"I'm sorry, this method really isn't my forté," Double Trouble apologized, rubbing their temples with one hand, "Are you *sure* you don't want to try roleplaying again?"

Double Trouble winced uncomfortably as Glimmer gave them an annoyed glare before she laid back down on the couch and stared up to the ceiling.

"Fine," Glimmer sighed, "Whatever..."

Double Trouble sighed in relief as she grew in size and stature and manifested two glorious wings on their back.

"So, Mom," Glimmer greeted sarcastically, "Why did you leave me?"

"You know I never wanted to leave you," Angela said with a tone of sadness, "I choose to stay behind to save Adora."

"Why couldn't the great She-Ra have stayed instead?" Glimmer grumbled to herself.

"Glimmer!" Angela scolded, "What happened wasn't Adora's fault."

"WELL, IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT EITHER!" Glimmer screamed.

"Yes, it was," Angela said sternly, "Everything that has happened to you all is because of my mistakes."

"What are you talking about?" Glimmer asked.

A small snort came out of Angela's nose as they closed their eyes and smiled to themself.

"You were right, Glimmer," Angela said, a tear dropping from her eye, "I was afraid, paralyzed in fear. I... am... a coward. I let the Horde take over our world because I was too afraid of what would happen if we resisted them. I left your father to die so I could hide in a palace behind my throne. I let the princess alliance fall apart because I was too scared of losing anyone else. And worst of all, I passed off all of the problems of my generation onto you. I let you and Micah and Adora make all the hard choices so I wouldn't have to. I told everyone I was being responsible, cautious, like a good leader should. But the truth is... I failed you. I left you to save Adora, because I knew that together you would do better than me. Because you are stronger together than I could ever hope to be. That was my last order, Glimmer. For you to look after each other."

Glimmer sniffled as tears began to well up in her eyes again.

"I miss you, Mom," she whined, "I miss you so much."

"And I miss you, too, Glimmer," said Angela.

Angela stared silently at the Queen in front of them as they allowed her to cry loudly into the night.

~*~

DT's Notes

Glimmer, Session 2  
\- Today, I hope to focus on Glimmer's issues with her mother  
\- Sweet Etheria, this is going to be my hardest role yet, playing a loving parent, who I had not and, as far as I know, cannot meet in person, to their own child, while literally stretching myself to the limit to emulate her height and wings. If I get this to work, I am the greatest thesbian of all time.  
\- Yeah, that didn't work. Time to do this the boring way.  
\- As expected, Glimmer has frustrations regarding the former Queen's passive role during the war.  
\- A lust for vengeance against the Horde, will need to address this is future sessions.  
\- Blames herself for the Portal event, will try to convince of the irrationality of this belief  
\- 2nd attempt at roleplay therapy, went much better I think, almost ruined the whole thing when I attempted to cry and nearly burst out laughing.  
\- Remind me to thank Adora for her notes on Angela's character, particularly her last words during the portal event.


	10. 2nd Interlude, Coffee with Scorpia

Double Trouble walked into the canteen holding a satchel over their shoulder and waved as they approached Scorpia talking to a Horde soldier in full armor.

"Oh, hey, you made it," Scorpia said, "I was just talking to Private Ricky about our supply situation."

"Is there anything else I can get for you or your guest, your 'ighness?" Private Ricky offered.

"Oh, I think we'll be fine, thank you," replied Scorpia politely.

"I'll have a coffee, if that's alright," asked Double Trouble.

"Oh nooo..." Scorpia interjected with a pale look on her face, "You wouldn't like the coffee here..."

"Honey, I grew up in the Crimson Wastes," Double Trouble retorted, "I'm sure whatever you have will be just fine."

"Acourse, milord," Private Ricky saluted, "'ow do you like it?"

"Three sugars with extra cream," Double Trouble ordered.

"Oh..." Scorpia tried to say, "Um..."

"No problem, your 'ighness," assured Private Ricky as he left for the kitchen, "I'm sure I can rummage around for it."

Double Trouble read the name on the back of Private Ricky's uniform as he passed through the swinging doors. Scorpia led them to a cafeteria table with a double bench.

"'Bald' Rick?" Double Trouble asked Scorpia as they sat down.

"Oh, it's just a callsign," Scorpia explained, "We use nicknames sometimes so people can tell each other apart easily on the radio."

"Oh, I see," Double Trouble said, "So how have things been going?"

"Oh, things are going well," Scorpia said, "We're scuttling most of our equipment to the bare bones, repurposing anything we can use. Supplies are becoming an issue, though. It looks like Hordak and Catra were really putting all their efforts into that big final push against the Princess Alliance. I guess they figured all their problems would be over once they took Brightmoon. It's kinda funny when you think about it. Win or lose, we all knew the war was coming to an end that day. And I'm still surprised about how everything turned out."

"I see," said Double Trouble, "Well, I hope things work out for you."

"Oh, it's fine," Scorpia said, reassuringly, "I've been talking to Princess Perfuma about importing food from Plumeria until we get things back on track. In the meantime, I've been going through that list you gave me."

"Well, that's good," said Double Trouble, "That reminds me I brought some more books for you to read, if your interested. Just some basic moral philosophy. It might look like they conflict with each other at first, but I think your ready from some more nuanced perspectives. Mermista also lent me one of her mystery novels."

Double Trouble went into their satchel and pulled out a couple books. One was on utilitarianism, the second was on deontology, the third was The Salineas Express.

"Oh, thanks," said Scorpia, picking up the books and placing them beside her, "So how are things going with the whole Psychiatry thing?"

"Oh, it's been wonderful," Double Trouble said, "Listening to people's stories and drama, getting inside their heads, understanding all their quirks and foibles. I really should have started practicing years ago. It didn't seem like a very viable career where I'm from."

Private Ricky returned from the kitchen and placed a coffee cup on the table between the Scorpion and the Lizard.

"Your coffee, milord," said the soldier.

"Thank you, Private," said Double Trouble, taking the cup and looking inside, "Ooo, Cappuccino."

Scorpia winced and reached for Double Trouble's hand as they brought the cup to their lips, before stopping herself. Scorpia twitched and scratched the side of her face with her claw before forcing both her arms crossed around her waist. Double Trouble took a sip of their drink, paused, and then let the liquid fall out of their mouth back into the cup. They carefully placed the cup on the table and slowly pushed it away from them.

"Well, I can't say you didn't warn me," Double Trouble replied.

"I am sooo sorry!" Scorpia apologized, "I wanted to tell you but-"

They were interrupted by a loud chirp as the badge on Scorpia's shirt started beeping and blinking. Scorpia pulled out her tablet and looked at it.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Scorpia said, looking at her tablet, "It's Catra. I've got to take this."

"Hmm," sighed Double Trouble in disappointment, "Fine."

Double Trouble leaned back on the bench and folded their arms. Scorpia put a speaker into her ear and tapped the button.

"Hey, Wildcat!" Scorpia greeted, before wincing so hard, Double Trouble could feel it.

"In a row?" Scorpia asked with a wide eyed expression, before turning her volume down, "Oh, okay. Because that would be really impressive if she did. I mean it's She-Ra, so she's got a lot of stamina... Ew! Why would you even ask that?"

Scorpia's expression drooped into boredom and annoyance while she listened, as Double Trouble raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"No, Catra, me and She-Ra never got together," Scorpia answered wearily, "No, not even in that alternate reality where she was on our side. That was all you, Wildcat... Uh-huh... Look Catra, is this important? Because I'm actually in the middle of something right now... I *know* this is important to *you*, Wildcat, but it really seems to be something you and She-Ra should be working out on your own. I'm a princess now, and I have a lot of duties- ...I know you're Horde Prime's liaison to Etheria, and when you have anything you guys need me to do, I will always be there for you... No, I'm not going to just sit here and listen to you complain about She-Ra! I didn't have enough time for that back when I was still just your Force Captain... Uh-huh... Buh-bye."

Scorpia tapped the screen on her tablet and pulled out her earpiece before putting everything away.

"Thirty Seven..." Scorpia whispered to herself before returning her attention back to Double Trouble, "Sorry about that."

Double Trouble's lip quivered as their hands pressed together in front of their face. They quickly put their bag on the table and began frantically digging through it.

"Oh, I see," Scorpia said, "You probably have somewhere you need to be."

"What? Oh, no, sorry," Double Trouble apologized, "I just needed to get my notepad."

~*~

DT's Notes

Scorpia, Unexpected Session 2

-Major breakthrough with Scorpia today with her issues with Catra!  
-Parallel Universes are a thing, apparently, should probably ask Scorpia about that that in our next session.  
-Side Note for Subject Catra, focus on her feelings of jealousy next session, no more distractions.  
-Side Note, Schedule Adora for a one on one session to discuss her possible problems with addiction  
-Note to self, don't drink coffee in the Fright Zone, today's drink tasted like cooked mud mixed with dandruff and spit.  
-Wait... was that what Scorpia was trying to tell me about their supply problems?

~*~

Addendum 1

Inside a large tent in the small campground set up in the wilderness of the Whispering Woods, Bow, King Micah, Lonnie and Swiftwind were gathered around a large paper map adorned with meticulously crafted figurines discussing long term strategies to fight the Horde. In a dark corner of the tent, an elderly woman with purple skin and pink rags was feeding a cupcake to a small babylike creature with grey skin, yellow eyes and leathery wings on it's back, when a lanky blonde young man came running past her and a cook holding a tray of tiny cupcakes and fizzy soda.

"Mr. Bow, sir!" Kyle announced, saluting as he stopped to catch his breath.

"What is it, Kyle?" Bow answered politely.

"I was using our old Horde equipment to listen in on transmissions from Brightmoon," Kyle explained, holding out a tablet, "This was just sent to the Fright Zone directly to Princess Scorpia. I only got one half of the conversation and some of it is garbled but I think you're gonna want to hear this."

Bow took the tablet from Kyle and tapped on the screen.

"ADORA LICKED THIRTY SEV-" screamed a familiar feline voice before it became distorted from the high volume.

"Catra..." Bow observed grimly.

"NO, TOTAL! WHY IS THAT YOU'RE FIRST QUESTION?!" continued the recording, screaming as loudly as possible, "Wait. How do you know this? DID ADORA *FFFZZT-crackle* TOO?!"

"It sounds like Adora has been fighting back against the Horde," Swiftwind commented.

"Yeah, and it's really got Catra really cheezed off," Lonnie added.

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION! DID YOU *FFFZZT* ADORA?!" Catra screamed over the recording, "What about *fzzt-crackle-fzzt* in the portal dimension?"

"I don't understand," said Swiftwind, "Is Catra ordering Scorpia to punish Adora? Are they going to send her in a portal or something?"

"BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE TO ONLY ONE IN ETHERIA WHO DIDN'T!" Catra argued, "OF COURSE, THIS IS IMPORTANT! I'M TOTALLY FREAKING OUT HERE!"

"Whatever it is," said Bow, "It sounds so bad that Scorpia doesn't want to do it."

"Oh, so you're a princess now?!" Catra noted sarcastically, "WELL, I'M SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING SURE YOU'RE LOYAL TO HORDE PRIME! THAT MEANS YOU ANSWER TO ME!"

"Yeah, this is classic Catra manipulation tactics," Lonnie noted, "First, she pulls rank, then comes the sympathy plea, then come the insults, finally the threats."

"SO HELP ME! BE HERE FOR ME NOW!" Catra ordered, "YOU WERE A TERRIBLE FORCE CAPTAIN! I HOPE *FFFZZT-pop* IN A FIRE, YOU *FFFZZT* GROSS BUG!"

"Called it," said Lonnie.

"DID YOU JUST HANG UP ON ME?!" Catra screeched, "AAAAAARGH! *FZZZT*"

"That's where it ends," Kyle reported.

"I mean, Scorpia's not going to hurt her, is she?" Swiftwind asked with worry, "She came over to our side, right?"

"All of the Princesses are compromised," Micah replied, "If they show any resistance to the Horde, Etheria itself will be in danger. But I thought the She-Ra would have warned us before she tried anything like this."

"Adora might not have had the chance," Bow theorized, "If Adora has started fighting back, then that means something big is going to be happening with the Horde."

"Hmm..." Micah sighed, closing his eyes as he stroked his beard, "This is indeed very worrying. I had hoped we had more time to prepare. Ms. Lonnie, how long until you can ready our forces?"

"We can be ready within the hour, your Majesty," Lonnie saluted.

"Very good," said Micah, "We'll start by provoking the Horde with raiding attacks on some of the nearby supply convoys."

"I really never thought I would have to go to war against Brightmoon and Glimmer," thought Bow glumly.

"Just remember that Glimmer is just as much a prisoner of the Horde as She-Ra is," Micah said reassuringly, "This is how we'll save them."

"Excuse me," Kyle spoke up, "Listening to it again, I was thinking... Is it possible that Adora and Catra got back together and Catra just wanted to vent her relationship issues at an old friend?"

The entire tent looked at Kyle in grim annoyance.

"Shut up, Kyle!" Lonnie ordered.

~*~

Addendum 2

All the soldiers in the Canteen stood up and saluted as Princess Scorpia entered.

"At ease, everybody," Scorpia ordered, holding out her claws passively, "Private Ricky, can I speak to you for a second?"

"Acourse, your 'ighness," replied a fully armored soldier, who walked up to the Princess, "'ow may I be of service?"

"I'm having a special guest here today," Scorpia explained, "I'd like you to put on a pot of coffee. Would you be able to just make it taste a *little* bit less like mud this time?"

"As you wish, your 'ighness," the soldier replied through his helmet, "Acourse, it will be difficult to do, your grace."

"Why is that?" Scorpia asked.

"It *is* mud," the soldier explained, "We ran out of real coffee shortly after you left the Fright Zone with that little robot ayours."

"So, every time I've asked for coffee from you since I became a Princess," Scorpia translated, "I have, in fact, been drinking hot mud."

"With sugar," the soldier added.

"Well, that's... better? ...I guess," Scorpia said optimistically.

"It would be if we had any *real* sugar," said the soldier, "But we ran out of *that* shortly after Lord 'ordak left to lead the attack on Salineas. Since then we've been stuck with the emergency sugar substitute."

"Which is?" Scorpia asked, dreading the answer.

"Dandruff," the soldier answered, "Perhaps you would like some milk or cream with it?"

"Do we actually have milk or cream?" Scorpia asked.

"No, I'm afraid," said the soldier, "On accounta we've never 'ad any cows in the Fright Zone. It's actually-"

"Nevermind then," Scorpia interrupted, "I think we'll be fine."

Double Trouble walked in through the door holding a satchel over their shoulder and waved as they approached Scorpia.


	11. Hordak, Session 2

"I believe the experiment was a complete success," Entrapta reported, "Hordak's workplace incidents have been reduced by a factor of almost ninety-nine percent. His hands are much steadier, his work much more precise and his calculations are now almost flawless."

"That is good to hear," said Double Trouble, scribbling on their notepad, "I assume this means work is progressing well for the two of you."

"Well, we've hit a bit of a roadblock on rebuilding She-Ra's sword," said Entrapta, nervously, "We're having trouble stabilizing the... data... flux... distortion for... reversing the... polarity of the... neutron... flow. It's all very technical, you see."

"I... see," Double Trouble responded hesitantly, writing something down on their notepad.

"Buuut, we might be able to make progress in our research from another direction," Entrapta explained, "I've requested to take a look at the ruins of this so-called 'Crystal Castle' that was reportedly the nerve center of the Heart of Etheria. Hopefully, we might discover something that may help us find a workaround for re-activating it."

"Well, that's... good... I think," Double Trouble said with a look of confusion, "So how are you both feeling about your current situation?"

Entrapta smiled brightly as her hair gave the green-eyed clone in front of her a small shove.

"Ahem..." Hordak began, "I am pleased to be of service to the Princess Entrapta. She appears to be very satisfied with our work together and has been much more willing to trust me in providing for her needs as of late."

"Her needs?" asked Double Trouble, raising an eyebrow as they continued writing.

"Etherian females require nurishment, sleep and recreational stimulation much more frequently than me and my brothers," Hordak explained, "Entrapta tends to be... neglectful of these realities in her devotion to her work."

"Oh, yes! That's another thing that I think I've figured out about Hordak's condition!" Entrapta added, "After our night out, he was twenty-three percent more alert and aware, so I believe one of his problems may, in fact, be sleep deprivation."

"What makes you think that?" Double Trouble asked, writing down another note.

"Hordak was created differently from the other-," Entrapta began.

"She is referring to my defects," Hordak interrupted.

"Your quirks!" Entrapta scolded, "Anyways, because he's not like the other clones, it's possible the Horde sleep schedule may not be adequate to suit his needs. His time on Etheria may have exasperated this condition. So I've developed a tranquilizer specific to his biology to help him readjust to a normal Etherian time table."

"Interesting," noted Double Trouble suspiciously, continuing to write on their notepad, "You mentioned providing for Entrapta's... you called it recreational stimulation?"

"We've been engaged in a number of mental and probability based exercises together," Hordak exposited, "Mainly a number of board and card games we had brought over from her castle in Dryl."

"It is so fun playing against someone I didn't program myself," Entrapta said, cheerily, "I never realized more much more interesting games are when you can't mathematically predict the other players."

"Uh, huh, Board games..." said Double Trouble sarcastically, writing down another note, "Riiight..."

"ALSO WE'VE STARTED HAVING SAAAAAAAAX!" Entrapta shouted, clapping her hands excitedly.

Double Trouble's pen trailed off the paper and onto their pants. Hordak's green eyes dilated into beady dots and he began to noticeably sweat. An uncomfortable silence permeated the room.

"What?! Is this about us having saaax?!" asked Entrapta in genuine confusion, "Why does everyone act all weird when I start talking about saaaaaax?! I've haaad saaax!"

"Well, the thing is... ahem..." Double Trouble began, clearing their throat, "I think there might be a problem with the power dynamics at play here."

"Oh, don't worry," Entrapta reassured Double Trouble, "I've designed Hordak's suit to compensate for any electrical fluctuations."

"I'm talking about whether you and Hordak are able to have a truly consensual relationship," Double Trouble explained, "I'm assuming you're asking for Hordak's consent, right?"

"My assignment to Horde Prime is to ensure Entrapta's well-being and that she is working at peak efficiency to restore the functionality of the Heart of Etheria," Hordak reported, "Whatever that entails."

"That is exactly my point," Double Trouble replied, "If Hordak doesn't want to have a relationship with you, Entrapta, is he really in any position to refuse?"

"Oh, my," Entrapta gasped, placing a sympathetic hand on Hordak's shoulder, "I didn't even think of that. Have I been taking advantage of you for my own selfish desires?"

"This is puerile nonsense," Hordak complained in frustration, "The Horde doesn't care about the 'consent' of it's soldiers. Horde Units do not have 'wants' or 'desires'. We serve Horde Prime and implement his will. That is all."

A small sob escaped Entrapta's lips as she covered her mouth. Hordak's ears flattened and his face deflated as he realized his mistake. Double Trouble began writing furiously on their notepad.

"Does this mean..?" Entrapta choked out, closing her blast visor to hide her tears, "I was just a means to an end for you, wasn't I? Something else to manipulate so you could get what you wanted. You never... really..."

"Entrapta..." Hordak said regretfully, grabbing Entrapta's hand and sitting up from the couch to face her, "Do you truly believe I would ever lie to you?"

"I..." Entrapta said hesitantly through the visor, "I don't know! I've never been good at judging social situations! I thought Adora was my friend but she abandoned me, I thought Catra was my friend but she hurt me, I thought you and I..."

"Entrapta," Hordak said sternly, "Let us go over this logically. Do you see any reason I would recommend your service to Horde Prime if I did not appreciate your presence in our previous collaborations?"

"Well..." Entrapta began, "No, that would not make sense."

"To your knowledge, have you encountered any situation where I hid my opinions from you?" asked Hordak, "Even at times when it would have served my purposes to practice discretion."

"No, never," Entrapta noted, sniffling as she opened her visor again.

"Given this, have you seen any indication that I would not immediately share my concerns of any decision you made since we began working together again?" asked Hordak.

"No, I have not," Entrapta answered.

"Now I don't require you to answer this out loud," Hordak said, "But with all these data points, what conclusions would *you* make?"

"Hordak..." said Entrapta, smiling through her tears, "I'm sorry, I was being stupid. Of course, you love-"

Entrapta was interrupted by Hordak grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her head towards his into a deep kiss. Entrapta pushed back against his chest in surprise but then closed her eyes and embraced him as the kiss went on, her arms sliding over his shoulders to hold the back of his head. When they broke the kiss to catch their breath, Hordak wrapped his other arm below Entrapta's bottom and picked her up. Entrapta wrapped her legs around Hordak's waist and lay her head over his shoulder like an exhausted child being carried by a parent. Hordak used his free hand to caress Entrapta's back as she closed her eyes contently.

"If you will excuse us," Hordak stated calmly, "This session has been very emotionally trying for my lab partner."

"Before you leave, I just had some-" began Double Trouble.

"I SAID WE ARE FINISHED, VAGRANT!" Hordak snarled, his red eyes of pure rage glaring deep into the soul of the former Horde spy.

~*~

DT's Notes

Hordak, Session 2  
\- Well, Entrapta seems happy at least  
\- Did Entrapta just try to lie to me? Adora was right, she is not good at this.  
\- Hordak just referred to providing for Entrapta's needs, will need specifics  
\- Entrapta is lying again... Something about Hordak being sleep deprived  
\- She is getting much more confident in lying, I think this might have been her first time ever doing this.  
\- They are totally doing it, is that what Entrapta is so embarrassed abo*penmark trailing off of the last word*  
\- Apparently not...  
\- I really had to shake his tree but we're finally getting a genuine emotional reaction from Hordak  
\- I may have gone a little too far in some places


	12. Catra, Session 4

"So... I may have kissed a few more women than I mentioned in our last session," Adora admitted while sitting over the edge of the couch next Catra, who had her arms folded in barely contained frustration.

"It's not that you kissed them, it's where-" Catra began angrily before stopping herself, "You know what, I'm not even going to argue that point. Sure, you kissed thirty seven strangers you've never met before, fine! That's still really bad!"

"Why did you... 'kiss'... all these women Adora?" Double Trouble asked, writing on their notepad.

Adora leaned backwards and sighed.

"I didn't mean for it to become a big thing," Adora explained, "It just sorta... kept happening. She-Ra would save a town from the Horde. The town would throw a big feast or a party or something to celebrate. I would meet a girl there who found me attractive and, if I liked them, we would go off into a corner together. I didn't see anything wrong with it at the time. It's not like they didn't know I would be leaving the next day. We both got exactly what we wanted from each other. What's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Catra yelled, "How can you not see the problem with that?"

"Well, Adora, there are no *inherit* problems with the situation you provide," Double Trouble answered as they continued writing, "But I worry you might have been using your status as She-Ra to take advantage of these women. This is similar to what I've been dealing with another couple I've been advising regarding power dynamics. If She-Ra approaches someone she just saved regarding a relationship, whether it be sexual, romantic or platonic, are they really in a position to refuse?"

"Of course!" Adora said defensively, "I would never force someone to be with me!"

"Obviously, I'm not referring to physical force," reassured Double Trouble, writing another note, "But you must understand that, even though this might be unintentional, there may be an unspoken implication of She-Ra asking for favors from another person. That She-Ra might not be there to stop the Horde next time, if you don't do this thing for her."

"That's disgusting!" Adora replied, "I would never *not* help someone because they refused to go out with me!"

"But is that how it would come across, Adora?" said Double Trouble.

"Yes!" said Adora sternly, "I mean... I would hope so. In most cases, *they* would come to *me*, asking for 'She-ra's special kiss'. Apparently, word was getting around in Etheria's lesbian community. It got really awkward when little boys and girls would find out and come up asking for that."

"Oh, Adora..." Catra groaned, covering her eyes, "Please tell me you didn't..."

"I'd kiss them on the forehead and send them away," Adora interjected, "Most of the time, that was good enough for them."

"Well, that's certainly a relief, Adora," said Double Trouble, writing down another note, "I assume your current relationship with Catra means you have stopped giving out these 'She-Ra specials'."

"Of course," Adora said.

"Catra, does that make you feel better?" asked Double Trouble, scribbling on their notepad.

"No, it doesn't!" Catra said loudly, shaking her head while maintaining eye contact.

"Why do you think that is?" asked Double Trouble.

Catra folded her arms and sank into the couch.

"I guess I'm mostly upset that while Adora has had women falling at her feet everywhere she goes," Catra growled, "*I* never bothered to get laid ever since she left!"

Double Trouble wrote down another note.

"Wait, never?" asked Adora, "I thought Scorpia was totally into you."

"Oh, she was," Catra answered, "That's the problem. I knew the second I got too close to her, she was going to grab hold of me and not let go."

"Huh, I sorta did get a bit of a clingy vibe from her," Adora thought aloud.

"I mean it literally. Every time I went near her, she would grab me with those terrifying claws of hers and just squeeze," Catra recollected, "It was horrible."

"Yeah, I guess it kinda limits your options for a relationship when you decide to stay with a genocidal dictatorship," Adora said sarcastically.

"Hey! I could have had anyone else in the Fright Zone if I really tried!" announced Catra, "Entrapta was really vulnerable after you ditched her, Hordak was a completely lonely nerd, and uh... Kyle, I guess... Oh, right, Double Trouble, we could have totally gotten together, right?"

"I don't understand the question," responded Double Trouble.

"I mean, we had a thing between us, didn't we?" Catra shrugged, "If I asked you to sleep with me, would you have said no?"

"No, I would have asked to be paid in advance," Double Trouble replied flatly, "I don't give out freebies, Kitten."

"But you slept with Adora," Catra argued.

"Yes... After she paid me," Double Trouble explained condescendingly, "You understand how that works, right?"

"What is this? A competition?" Adora asked, "Are you upset because more people like me than you?"

"Yes!" Catra shouted, "Finally, you're starting to get it!"

"In that case, maybe it would help if you thought of it like this," Double Trouble suggested, scribbling another note, "Adora has tried relationships with a... *wide* ...variety of people, but in the end she chose you. You're the one who she wants to try spending the rest of her life with. You won. You get the girl who can have any girl she wants."

"Greaaat," sighed Catra sarcastically, "And all I had to do was try to kill her over and over again."

"Catra... I've always loved you," Adora said sincerely, "Ever since we were kids. All you had to do was come with me at Draymore... and..."

Adora sniffled a bit and wiped her eyes. Catra turned her head away in shame.

"I... Uggh. I love you, too," Catra grumbled, rolling her eyes, "That's why it hurts so much to think of all the other people who loved you without me. That's why I wanted to hurt you... to kill you... after you left me. Because if I couldn't have you, I didn't want anyone else to either. I'm... I'm sorry, Adora."

Adora placed a comforting hand on Catra's shoulder. Catra grabbed the back of Adora's head and pulled her into an intense kiss. Adora moaned in pleasure and wrapped her other arm around Catra's waist. Catra broke the kiss to catch her breath and the two women stared deeply into each others eyes.

"I think we've made major progress today," Double Trouble reported, "Is there anything else either of you feel we need to go over before we end our session?"

"I think I could really go for a She-Ra special right now," joked Catra.

"Not in here you're not!" Double Trouble ordered, pointing their pen at the door, "Get out!"

~*~

DT's Notes

Catra, Session 4  
\- Hopefully, we'll have better luck today tackling Catra's jealousy  
\- First, we'll need to explore Adora's reasons for her... promiscuity  
\- It doesn't sound like addiction, possibly a side effect of her Messiah Complex, too eager to please everyone  
\- Need to quickly make sure Adora's not pressuring anyone into sex  
\- No, she just really is that popular.  
\- Now we can focus on Catra's feelings  
\- As suspected, Catra has feelings of inadequacy towards Adora  
\- Will attempt to appeal to Catra's ego  
\- Major Breakthrough today with Catra  
\- I think we're going to have to break up Catra and Adora's sessions for the foreseeable future, Catra's starting to leave hairs on my couch and that stuff is not easy to clean


	13. Scorpia, Session 3

"I messed up," Scorpia said as she began pacing around the room, "I knew this was going to happen. I messed everything up."

"Scorpia, please sit down," said Double Trouble, scribbling on their notepad, "I can't help you if you don't relax."

"Oh, no, I can't relax," Scorpia said shaking her head, "People are upset about losing their jobs, no one wants to help grow food, our convoys have started dissappearing, I haven't heard any feedback on what to rename the Fright Zone..."

"Scorpia! Sit down!" ordered Double Trouble, "You're giving me a headache trying to follow you."

Scorpia did as she was told and lay back on the couch in front of Double Trouble.

"Now then..." said Double Trouble as they took in a deep breath, "Why don't we start from the begining? What has happened since we last met?"

"Alright..." Scorpia said before taking a minute to think, "It all started with when I made a public announcement of all the changes I wanted to make. I really didn't expect it to go over as badly as it did. People were yelling, throwing stuff, someone lit a fire somewhere. It was total chaos."

"Do you know why people were upset?" Double Trouble asked, writing down a note.

"Well," Scorpia recollected, tapping her chin, "When I suggested we disband our military, someone shouted that I should 'Support the Troops!' I thought that was the perfect moment to segway into my plans for health care and retirement support for our veterans and someone else shouted that I was turning the Fright Zone into a 'Welfare State'. I didn't quite understand if that was a complaint or not, so I told them that yes, the state was going to provide for people's welfare. Then they started shouting something about 'Parasites' who should get a job, so I brought up the new positions I have posted for rebuilding the Fright Zone's agriculture. That seemed to go over pretty neutrally, until someone asked who I expected to fill those positions, and I told them I asked Princess Perfuma to send us some of her people to provide training for anyone who wants to be a farmer. Then they got really angry about Plumerian's 'stealing our jobs'."

"I think I get the picture," Double Trouble sighed in disappointment, writing another note on their notepad.

"I didn't even mention what happened after I told them my plans for Gun Control," Scorpia continued, "Or how they called the food shipments from Plumeria a princess plot to turn us all into something called 'beta soy weaklings'."

"So, the Horde remnants are made up of reactionary, conspiratorial, close minded idiots," Double Trouble translated, writing another note, "I should have probably guessed this would happen."

"Oh..." hissed Scorpia nervously, "I don't really like the idea of calling half of Etheria idiots."

"Half of Etheria?" asked Double Trouble in surprise, "I don't... think... you did the math right there, Princess."

"Well, there's the Horde, and there's the Princess Alliance," Scorpia explained, "That makes two halves, right?"

"Scorpia, the Horde made up a ridiculously small percentage of the population of Etheria," Double Trouble argued, "In the lands that make up your kingdom alone, less than a quarter of residents supported Hordak."

"Huh..." Scorpia said, "But then why were the Princesses so scared of us?"

"You had guns," Double Trouble explained, "Also, Etheria's political systems seem to value plots of empty space over people's actual opinions."

"So you think I should just ignore them?" asked Scorpia.

"Well, not entirely," Double Trouble said, writing again on their notepad, "People like that can do really stupid and dangerous things, so I would keep an eye on them for everyone's safety. But should you dismiss their concerns? Oh my, yes. If I know anything about being a ruler, which admittingly is not alot, it's that you will never please everyone. As Princess, everything you do is going to tick someone off somewhere. At some point you have to be a leader, not a mediator and rule the way you think is right."

"Okay..." Scorpia said, finally begining to relax, "But I'm still concerned about our supply situation. We're starting to run out of food now. People are getting desperate. Crime is starting become a big thing now."

"What's been going on with the food shipments from Plumeria?" Double Trouble asked, continuing to write on their notepad.

"That's just it," Scorpia said, "We haven't been getting them anymore. Raiders have been hitting all our trucks and stealing everything. Here's a report I got from the last convoy."

Scorpia pulled out a sheet of paper from her bag and held it in front of her.

"Our lead truck got stuck in a mudslide today," Scorpia read aloud, "We're in the process of digging it out and clearing a path for our other trucks to go around it. Beverly still hasn't come back from her scouting patrol. Everytime we ask her to report in, she just says, 'I'm on my way.' If she doesn't come back soon, I'm going to have to report her as AWOL."

Scorpia flipped to the next page.

"Next hour," Scorpia continued, "Progress is slow on getting back underway. These trees are impossible to cut through. Beverly still hasn't returned, still reporting she's on her way. I've sent Jameson to go bring her back."

Scorpia cleared her throat and moved on to the next page.

"Next hour: I am really starting to hate these Woods. Jameson complained about seeing a creepy baby thing flying around. Beverly still missing, still reporting she's on her way over the radio."

Scorpia continued reading the next page.

"Next hour: This mudslide was set up deliberately. This whole thing is a trap. I've called both Jameson and Beverly back. Jameson reports he still hasn't found Beverly. Beverly still reporting she's on her way over the radio. We've stopped progress on digging out the lead truck to prepare defensive positions for an upcoming attack."

Scorpia flipped to the last page.

"Next hour: Raiders hit us hard. Looked like a mixed group of former Brightmoon and Horde soldiers. They were led by an archer riding a flying unicorn. We were quickly overwhelmed. Many injured but no fatalities. Took everything from our trucks. Jameson returned with Beverly. She says she was captured shortly after I first called for her to return. Apparently, the raiders had been spoofing her communications somehow. It looks like we'll be returning to the Fright Zone empty handed."

Scorpia finished reading and put the papers back in her bag.

"Well..." Double Trouble said, "That bites."

~*~

DT's notes

Scorpia, Session 3  
\- Scorpia looks very concerned today, I think something bad has happened  
\- Scorpia is definitely nettled  
\- Apparently her new policy changes aren't going over well  
\- Right, I forgot about the whole bucket of reprehensibles that Hordak gathered to serve him  
\- Yeah, this is going to be a whole thing now  
\- Will suggest that Scorpia not take her critics too seriously and take charge of the situation.  
\- People getting hungry really isn't going to help matters  
\- And it looks like Bow's resistance movement has gotten started at the most inappropriate time  
\- I am not even trained to be an actual therapist, much less to advise on how to fight a guerilla army  
\- You mean a non-binary pansexual thesbian prostitute who grew up poor supports leftist politics, who could have guessed?


	14. Mermista, Session 3

"So first, I get a call from Entrapta telling me that raiders have stolen all of the robots she was going to send me," Mermista exposited from her couch, "Then I get a message from a seagull saying that Bow is bringing a bunch of construction equipment they stole from the Horde that he thinks would help for rebuilding Salineas. Why do I feel like this whole plausible deniability thing is just... sooo stupid?"

"Plausible deniability?" repeated Hordak, writing on their notepad.

"It was Glimmer's plan," Mermista said, "Bow and Glimmer's Dad went into the Whispering Woods to start an underground resistance movement against the Horde. Glimmer's worried that if it looks like any of the Runestone Princesses aren't cooperating, Horde Prime will think the Heart of Etheria is more trouble than it's worth and go with his original plan of just bombing us all into molten slag. So no direct contact with the rebels. We can't tell them anything and we can't know what they're doing. That way Prime can't find out we're helping the rebels because there's nothing to find out."

"I can see how that would be frustrating for you," said Hordak, writing down another note.

"It's like... I'm a princess," Mermista groaned, "I can fight. I can make plans. I've been fighting the Horde my whole life, so why am I just sitting around doing nothing while the boys do all the work?"

"Sometimes, doing nothing is hardest thing we can do," Hordak told Mermista, "But remember you're not alone in this. Have you been keeping in touch with your friends like I've suggested?"

"I guess," said Mermista, "Entrapta's always busy, but I chat with her when I can. I don't understand a word she says sometimes, but she seems happy enough. Perfuma gave me some meditation techniques to help me stay calm, but when I try them I hear this little voice in the back of my head yelling at me for sitting around doing nothing while other people are fighting and dying out there. Frosta's been training and sparing with me, and that same voice asks me why I'm wasting energy smashing up ice statues when there are literal alien conquerers for me to fight. I go to Glimmer's social events, but the voice is scolding me for going out and having fun while the rest of Etheria is suffering. I've tried keeping in touch with Adora, but it's getting really awkward with Catra around."

"I suppose there's still some animosity from the war," Hordak theorized, writing down another note, "It may take some time for you to be comfortable with each other as former enemies."

"That's just it," Mermista said, "I don't think this is a war thing. Whenever we're near each other, there's just this... mood, like that somewhere deep down Catra really hates me personally."

"Did she and you ever have any major conflicts during the war?" asked Hordak, "Any climactic battles that may have left scars, mental or physical?"

"Not really," Mermista recollected, "I mean, we've never really fought one on one. I think it was mostly She-Ra and Glimmer that went up against her whenever she showed up."

"Hmm," sighed Hordak as they thought pensively, before writing again on their notepad, "Perhaps you should talk to Adora privately about these concerns you have with Catra."

"That's gonna be a problem. I can never talk Adora by herself anymore," said Mermista, "Catra is like... always there. Even when I think she's busy with something else, Catra always shows up to butt in the second I get anywhere near Adora."

"I see..." Hordak noted, "So what else have you been doing?"

"Well, nothing else seems to be working, so I've mostly been..." Mermista paused in embarrasement before taking a deep breath, "I've been lying in the new hot tub Seahawke put in my throne room and eating ice cream all day."

"Oh, honey..." gasped Hordak, breaking character for a moment, "Please, no..."

"It's awful," groaned Mermista covering her face in shame, "I've put on so much weight since this whole mess started. By the time Glimmer wants me to help with the rebellion, I'm going to be a fat useless whale who won't be able to do anything."

"Princess Mermista of Salineas!" snarled Hordak, "Snap out of it and look at me!"

Mermista nearly jumped out of the couch in surprise as she stared in shock at her therapist.

"You know that voice telling you all these awful things?" Hordak roared angrily, "Calling you fat; Making you feel bad for enjoying yourself; Telling you that you're a terrible actress and no one wants to see you go up on stage and that everyone is silently judging you all the time! That voice is not your friend! That voice is your greatest enemy! That voice wants to destroy your entire world from within! The next time you hear that voice, I want you to picture it coming out of the mouth of the person you hate the most in the universe and I want you to tell it to shut up! Shout it out loud if you have to! Do you hear me, Mermista?!"

Mermista quickly nodded silently, her eyes still wide with fear.

"Do you still hear that voice right now?" asked Hordak calmly.

"Yes..." Mermista said, nervously.

"You know what I want to hear," growled Hordak.

Mermista took in a deep breath.

"Shut up, Horde Prime," said Mermista.

"Louder!" ordered Hordak.

"Shut up, Hordak!" yelled Mermista.

"I can't hear you, Princess!" shouted Hordak like a drill sergeant.

"I SAID SHUT YOUR STUPID FACE, SEAHAWKE!" screamed Mermista jumping out of the couch.

Mermista was seething in rage as her chest heaved in and out with her intense breathing.

"Feeling better?" asked Hordak.

"Yeah..." Mermista said, lying back on the couch, "That really helps, thank you."

"Excellent," said Hordak, going through their notes, "One princess I notice you've neglected to mention is Princess Scorpia. I wonder if the two of you might find something you both enjoy."

"Scorpia the Horde soldier?" Mermista asked, "No, thanks. I don't think we'd get along very well."

"Adora was with the Horde, too, before you met her," Hordak pointed out, "If you give Scorpia a chance, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Your kingdoms both seem to be having similar issues right now. Perhaps you might be able to help one another. I'll set up a time to introduce you two."

"Sure, why not?" Mermista sighed sarcastically, "What's the worst that can happen?"

~*~

DT's notes  
\- Mermista's alone today, Seahawke must be busy somewhere else  
\- I think I'll wear something to shake her out of her comfort zone a bit  
\- How did Hordak lose to these people?  
\- Mermista is feeling left out and helpless with the rebellion  
\- Hello, Anxiety, my old friend  
\- Side Note: Catra still jealous, possessive tendencies  
\- Gave Mermista my old "Shut Up, Anxiety!" trick  
\- Suggested Mermista and Scorpia hang out. Because Scorpia can always use more friends.


	15. Hordak, Session 3

"So I take it Entrapta is busy today," Scorpia asked, sitting at their usual chair.

"I've requested Entrapta not take part in anymore of these... sessions," Hordak growled, "If it were up to me, I would not have returned at all. However... Entrapta believes I have problems with... anger management... that she feels is disruptive to our work."

"I see," Scorpia said, writing down on their notepad, "When do you think your anger issues began?"

"I do not see my emotional state as an issue," Hordak replied, "I see it as a perfectly rational response to an aggravating situation."

"Which is?" asked Scorpia, quickly writing down another note.

"Being trapped on this primitive world for decades," Hordak reported, "Expending every effort to build an empire worthy of my brother, only to find out everything I did has brought nothing but shame to me and my people."

"Yes, that is a good place to begin," said Scorpia, "Why don't you tell me about what happened after you first arrived on Etheria?"

"Very well," Hordak began, "I had just been demoted for attempting to hide my... 'quirks'... from Horde Prime. I was sent to pilot with a squadron of one man fighters for a major confrontation with an enemy fleet. We were little more than cannon fodder to be shot down by their defenses while our destroyers moved into firing position. During the battle, my ship was caught in an unknown spacial anomaly that transported me here. My ship had crashed on this planet and I was stranded. Protocol dictated that I report my position and situation to the rest of the Horde and await recovery."

"I'm assuming protocol did not include single handedly attempting to take over an entire planet," said Scorpia, writing down another note.

"No, it did not..." Hordak grumbled, "My signaling equipment could not reach my brothers. At the time, I assumed it was damaged in the crash and looked for a means to repair it. My search brought me to the Scorpions of Horror Hall."

"I guess they didn't take kindly to an alien creature crashing his spaceship into their backyard," said Scorpia.

"Actually, the Scorpions were very accommodating," said Hordak, "They were convinced I was a political refugee from a government that had betrayed me, and took me in as one of their citizens. Eventually, I would need them to fight and kill those who would harm me, but for the time, I settled for food and shelter. It was in Horror Hall where I had begun work on repairing my ship. Progress was very slow due to the... deficient... level of technology that existed on the planet at the time. I had lacked even the most basic necessities for my work, electronics, computers, indoor plumbing... I had to face the facts, these people were borderline savages and they were lucky to have me. I certainly wasn't there by choice. But I knew then to return home that I would need to take drastic action to turn this kingdom into something worthy of the Horde. Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself."

"Mmm-hmm," hummed Scorpia when their pen suddenly snapped in half, "Whoops!"

"It is interesting that you would take that form to interview me today," Hordak chuckled, "It was that very princess that proved to be the key to my rise to power. A new child had been born in the royal family who was diagnosed with the crimson plague. It was a simple bacterial infection, but very deadly to the ignorant primitives of this world. And there I was with the only cure. A small dose of penicillin from my standard issue medical kit and the newborn would be saved. If she didn't receive it... well..."

"So you gave the girl the medicine, right?" said Scorpia nervously as they placed the notepad in their bag.

"Eventually..." answered Hordak, "I gave the royal family my terms. If I were to save the child, I would need an army, I would need their runestone and I would take the child's life for my own to ensure their loyalty. They would be under new management and I had already foreseen numerous changes I would have to make. Of course, their patriarch did not hesitate to save his granddaughter. The Scorpion King of Horror Hall gave me his entire kingdom... for a single pill."

"Wow, now that is what I call a con job," Scorpia gasped with admiration.

"It was necessary," explained Hordak, "The runestone was the perfect power source for my work and I would need to update and industrialize Horror Hall's military in order to procure the equipment and resources I needed to complete my repairs."

"So what happened to the other Scorpions?" asked Scorpia.

"They left shortly after I took over," said Hordak, "To where, I did not know or care at the time. I had everything I needed from them."

"If that's the case," Scorpia asked, "When did the whole taking over all of Etheria and wiping out the other princesses start?"

"When I realized how easy it would be," Hordak said, "The Etherians I saw were living in a medieval nightmare ruled by a caste of ignorant children who had no concept of the power they held. I wanted to show them all a better way of life. An Etheria with the wonders of the Horde's science and technology, where one's place in life would be determined by their merits and not by the circumstances of birth. An Etheria not for the incompetent tyranny of their inbred feudal monarchies, but for the ruthless command of the smartest, the strongest and most capable."

"In other words, you," Scorpia translated.

Another small chuckle came from Hordak's lips.

"And that was my folly, wasn't it?" Hordak realized, "I had forgotten my place. I wanted so desperately to prove myself to Horde Prime, to show him I wasn't a failure, that I had not even considered the ramifications of my actions until it was too late. I am no ruler. I had allowed a fortunate accident to convince me I was better than I actually was. I allowed myself to be manipulated by people I knew to be traitors and liars. With a technologically superior force, I couldn't even defeat a small gang of hormonal teenagers armed with swords and arrows. By all metrics, I *am* a failure, nothing more than a defective copy who didn't even know how to die properly."

"So the person you are really angry with is..?" Scorpia encouraged.

"Shadow Weaver," stated Hordak as though what he said was obvious, "Clearly, everything that has gone wrong can be traced directly to her incompetence. Also, Catra. She is... the worst."

~*~

DT's Notes

Hordak, Session 3  
\- Hordak is back, I don't see Entrapta though  
\- H0sTiLE To TrEAtMANT siNcE LASt sEssioN, STiLL WorTH bElNg AbLE To rEAD EMotioNAL rESpoNse  
\- ComForT iN ANgEr, LaNg TErM issuE?  
\- DeMoTED To mEAT sheIld, LoW sElF CoNFlDENcE?  
\- LiFE lN HorDE reSuItlng iN beIiEFs oF oWN RaCiaL sUPEriorTy, C0lonialisT attItUdeS an*large blotch of spilled ink*  
\- How does Scorpia write with those stupid things on her arms?  
\- Okay, basic jist of things. Hordak is in denial about his internalized self loathing and is projecting that anger onto others.


	16. Glimmer, Session 3

"So when Hordak was in charge," Glimmer grumbled, "He was able to single handedly turn a small kingdom of Scorpions into an unstoppable technologically advanced war machine. But when we have the benefit of all the Kingdoms of Etheria working together in a time of relative peace, we can't even manage basic stuff like making sure we all have enough food for everyone. I can't help but feel a little bit demoralized here."

"Well, to be fair," Catra suggested, writing on their usual notepad, "It is certainly much easier to galvanize people to work against something they hate than it is to get them to help fix their own problems, and it's not like this wasn't going to become a problem for the Fright Zone anyway. How do you think the other princesses are feeling about this situation?"

"Well, Perfuma wants to be zen about this and hopes the rebels need the food more than we do," Glimmer explained, "Frosta wants to impose martial law. Mermista has her own problems to deal with. Scorpia is trying to be optimistic about everything, but I can tell it's been getting to her."

"Mmm-hmm?" encouraged Catra as they wrote.

"It seems like a vicious cycle," Glimmer continued, "There's not enough to go around in the Fright Zone so people either turn to stealing from other people or going into the Whispering Woods to join the resistance, which means there are more criminals and freedom fighters stealing stuff, so there's even less to go around and less honest citizens to help fix things. It's just gotten too dangerous in the Fright Zone."

"And it wasn't before?" asked Catra.

"Well, yeah, dangerous to *us*, but we were at war with them at the time," Glimmer replied, "As bad as Hordak was, you didn't see his soldiers stabbing each other in the back when he was running things."

"No, it was usually either him or his number two henchgirl who did the backstabbing," Catra noted.

"Yeah, I might be giving them too much credit there," Glimmer realized, "The point is... the people in the Fright Zone can't help themselves because the land is too polluted, and no one else wants to help them because it's gotten so scary to go there."

"What does Adora think of all of this?" asked Catra.

"Adora... doesn't know," Glimmer said hesitantly, "I haven't told her anything yet."

"Why not?" Catra asked, making another note.

"Because I don't think there's a whole lot she can do about it," Glimmer answered, "She's not She-Ra anymore without the sword, and I don't want to put her in a position where she can't help, because she's going to try anyway."

"You sound frustrated," observed Catra, "Is everything going alright between you and Adora?"

"I mean... yes?" Glimmer said, "It's just that... Ever since I became Queen I don't feel like Adora... respects me as a ruler. By the end of the war, she would always second guess my decisions, ignore orders, judge me for training with Shadow Weaver..."

"It sounds almost as though she has learned from someone to not implicitly trust figures of authority," said Catra sarcastically, writing down another note, "Possibly a long time best friend who may or may not have been a rebellious princess."

"Are you saying this is *my* fault?!" Glimmer shouted.

"I'm saying that you and Adora are much more similar than you realize," Catra explained, "Tell me Glimmer, did you always follow your mother's orders *just* because she was Queen?"

"Of course I did!" Glimmer said defiantly.

The room was silent as Catra frowned and raised an eyebrow at Glimmer.

"Well..." Glimmer stuttered, "Not always."

"Look, Sparkles," said Catra bluntly, "The reason you followed orders from your Queen is because you respected and trusted her; not as a ruler, but as someone who had more experience than you and who saw a bigger picture than you did. Adora and Bow and all the other princesses follow your orders because they respect and trust you as a friend and a war hero who has their best interests at heart, not because of some 'divine mandate from the First Ones'. But that respect and trust is eroded when you don't recipricate it. For example, when you release and spend quality time with someone who abused Adora as a child without consulting her first, or when you don't trust her enough to tell her the truth."

"You're saying I should tell Adora about the attacks," Glimmer translated.

"I'm saying, your Majesty, that you should start treating her as a person with an equal stake in what's going on in your kingdom," explained Catra, "And not just a subject for you to exploit for your purposes."

"You make it sound like there's no point in being a queen at all," said Glimmer.

"I mean, kinda?" said Catra, "I don't really see the point of choosing our rulers based on their proximity to magic rocks. For all of Hordak's faults, of which there are many, he kinda had a point about princesses being hormonal teenagers wielding inordinate power beyond what they could be reasonably be expected to control or be responsible for. But you live in the Etheria you have, not the one you wish you had."

"You're starting to sound like Swiftwind," Glimmer observed.

"Who's that?" Catra asked.

"She-Ra's horse?" answered Glimmer, "Rainbow mane? Horn on his head? Big wings?"

"Oh, yeah," Catra replied, "He was in Elberon. I thought his voice was funny. What happened to him? It's like he would disappear off the face of Etheria all the time."

"I don't really like having him around Bright Moon when I can help it," Glimmer said quietly, "He... he threatened to decapitate my mom with something called a 'Gilly-Teen'."

"Well, here's hoping it doesn't come to *that*," Catra said, flashing a nervous smile while writing down another note.

~*~

DT's Notes

Glimmer, Session 3  
\- Today I plan on spending some of our session dealing with Glimmer's anger issues  
\- Who am I kidding? The rebellion is probably going to take up all of our time  
\- Glimmer is demoralized by the food situation, has feeling of inadequacy towards Hordak of all people  
\- Shows genuine concern for Scorpia and the Fright Zone, progress  
\- Hiding the truth from Adora, distrust? Will press further.  
\- And here comes her control freak tendencies, this has been a long time coming  
\- Shared my concerns of Etheria's monarchal system of government  
\- Note to self: Try to get in touch with Swiftwind, re: Democratic Socialist Revolution


	17. 3rd Interlude, Part 1, Crab Cakes

Mermista stepped off the transport onto the sidewalk dragging a small wheeled suitcase behind her. Double Trouble followed her carrying a large saddle bag on their shoulder. The transport then took off and left them in the desolate neighborhood. In the distance, a loud bang could be heard followed by a woman screaming and the squeal of tires.

"Welcome to the Fright Zone, your Majesty," Double Trouble greeted.

"Yeah, I've been here a few times," Mermista said, "Although, it definitely wasn't this... run down, the last time I was here."

"Actually, it's starting to look a lot like home," Double Trouble noticed, "Only without all the sand. Have you ever been to the Valley of the Lost?"

"Um, no," Mermista said bluntly, "I don't do deserts."

"Yeah, it's not best place to make friends," Double Trouble agreed, "Speaking of which, we should probably be getting off the streets."

Mermista groaned as she lethargically followed Double Trouble's nervous and quickened footsteps into an messy, dark alleyway.

"Well, if nothing else, this certainly *smells* familiar," sniffed Mermista, recalling her first adventure sneaking through the Fright Zone's sewer system.

"Shh!" hushed Double Trouble, putting a finger to their lips.

A tall brown-furred burly man emerged from the darkness and approached the princess and the therapist. Mermista and Double Trouble subtly turned around to face the street they entered from, only to see the mouth of the alleyway blocked by a slender lizardman and a tough looking white skinned human male.

"Well, well, well," said the human, "What are a couple of pretty young things like you doing in an old broken down place like this?"

"Keep walking, pal," Mermista ordered.

"No, I think me and my boys are gonna have a little fun with you," chuckled the man, pulling out a knife, "Lose the bags and empty your wallets!"

Mermista casually left her rolling suitcase standing as she smoothly walked up to the man with a knife, grabbed him by the wrist and punched him in the throat. The man dropped the knife, fell to one knee and began coughing.

"Gak," he wheezed, "What are you morons doing? Get them!"

The lizardman pulled out a knife of his own and began to circle Mermista. Mermista grabbed the other man's arm with both hands and flung him over her shoulder, hitting the lizardman over the head like a sledgehammer. At the same time, Double Trouble spun around and swung their saddlebag like a mace, hitting the furry giant in the leg and forcing him into a kneeling pose. Dropping the bag, they climbed up onto the giant's shoulders and performed a handstand, before falling back down and kicking the bear in the face with their knee. The giant fell backwards as Double Trouble made a backwards somersault in the air, landing on an acrobatic pose with arms outstretched like a circus performer.

While the human and the lizardman struggled to disentangle themselves, Mermista picked up a garbage can lid and grabbed the lizardman by the collar. She repeatedly smashed the garbage can lid into the lizardman's face with a loud crash as the human crawled over to his dropped knife. A nearby drain broke open as a large quantity of sewage came bursting out and formed a bowling ball sized sphere in the air. The sphere surrounded the human man's head as he rolled on the ground gasping to breathe, while Mermista continued pummeling the lizardman with the trash can lid.

Double Trouble picked up their bag again and raised it threateningly as the last assailant slowly picked himself up off the ground and roared at them. He raised his fists to bring down on Double Trouble before his face turned to a look of surprise. His entire body froze and Double Trouble rolled to the side as, like a statue, the giant fell forward onto the ground, stiff as a board. When the dust cleared, Double Trouble saw a familiar large woman with short white hair and large red claws.

"I'm so sorry!" Scorpia called out, "I must have been waiting at the wrong bus stop! Are you guys okay?"

"Just working out some stress off on these chuckleheads' skulls," Mermista answered.

Mermista dropped the garbage can lid and let go of the lizardman, letting his twitching misshapen face fall to the ground and leak green liquid into the alleyway. Behind her, the ball of sewage returned to following the laws of physics and splashed onto the ground below the gasping blue faced human. Mermista fixed her hair, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and calmly walked over to the Horde princess.

"Princess Mermista of Salineas," she greeted, holding her hand out to shake.

"Oh, I know, we've met before!" Scorpia replied, excitedly shaking her hand with both claws, "Again, really sorry about this whole mess. Things have been really hectic around here."

"Yeah... I can see that," Mermista said, looking at the coughing and groaning bodies behind her with disgust.

~*~

Scorpia led her guests into the throne room. The former sanctum of Lord Hordak was still sprinkled with wreckage and debris. A hole in the ceiling shone a small light onto a small table set up with stools, a colorful place mat and a bowl of tiny crab cakes. Double Trouble immediately sat down and began digging through their bag, pulling out a pen, pad and paper. They took one of the crab cakes and began munching on it while they wrote continuously on the notepad.

"So, I kinda screwed up the scheduling today," Scorpia explained, pulling a stool out for Mermista, "Entrapta's coming over to pick up all her old stuff to bring to her new lab out in the Whispering Woods. Is that gonna be a problem?"

"No, I don't think so," Mermista said, as sat down nervously, "I just hope she didn't bring her new boyfriend with her."

"Oh, I didn't know she met someone," Scorpia said, sitting down herself, "That's good. I was kinda worried about how she was doing, but I didn't want to force anything after the whole... sending her to Beast Island thing. Is it anyone I know?"

"I mean, I would hope so," Mermista said, looking around at the decayed ruin around her, "Look, I don't want to be rude or anything, but it looks like you have a lot of problems you need help with."

"Oh, Is it that obvious?" Scorpia said, wincing, "I'm sorry, I really should have gotten this place cleaned up better before you came."

"Look, would you just please calm down?!" Mermista shouted in frustration, holding out her hand, "I swear I can't get a single sentence out of you without you apologizing to me about something. I just meant that-"

Mermista stopped herself and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and exhaled before opening them again.

"I'm sorry," Mermista said calmly, "I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help."

"Oh, okay," Scorpia said, her mood brightening, "I mean, that's great but I don't think there's a whole lot anyone can do right now."

"Puh-haps 'ou shud tell hur anyway," suggested Double Trouble as they continued writing with a full mouth before taking a moment to swallow, "If nothing else, it isn't good to keep your problems bottled up."

"Well, the biggest problem is food," Scorpia explained, "Nothing seems to be growing here, the guy Perfuma sent to take a look at our soil disappeared after one night. So we can't solve that problem until we do something about our security."

"Actually, I had an idea about that," Mermista said, "We sort of, like, don't have a fishing industry anymore since Hordak sank our entire fleet. Do you think you could, like maybe, lend Salineas some of your ships so we could get that going again?"

"Oh, sure!" Scorpia said excitedly, "That would be great! It would be nice to have actual crab for a change instead of trapping cockroaches."

Double Trouble stopped chewing the crab cake that was in their mouth, paused for a second in thought, and then gave a small shrug before they continued eating. The door to the sanctum hissed open as a short, aging bald man wearing a white T-shirt and jeans entered the throne room and cleared his throat.

"A Princess Entrapta here to see you, your 'ighness," greeted the former private Ricky, "Shall I send her-"

"Hi, Scorpia!" interrupted a familiar scientist, pushing past the old man and knocking him over, "Oh, hey, Mermista! I didn't know you would be here! It's nice to see you all getting along! Oh! Are those tiny crab cakes?!"

Without hesitation, Entrapta grabbed one of the confections and plopped it in her mouth. Mermista's face slowly turned green.

"Uh-nuh, I forgoff," Entrapta said as she chewed, "Am I allergic to shellfish?"

"It's okay," Double Trouble explained, "It's not real crab."

"Oh, that's good!" Entrapta replied in relief, grabbing another crab cake and eating it.

"Wait a second," Scorpia said, pointing her claw at the tall dark figure picking up Ricky off the ground and dusting off his shirt, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Only if you think it's Hordak," Mermista replied, clutching her stomach as she slowly got up from the table, "Because that's Hordak."

"Hello, Force Cap- ...Princess Scorpia," Hordak greeted, bowing to the princesses, "Princess Mermista..."

"I was just leaving," Mermista said, giving Scorpia a short wave before walking out the door, "It was nice meeting you and everything, but I've suddenly lost my appetite."

"Oh, wow!" Scorpia said, running up to her former boss and wrapping her claws around him, "You're alive!"

"Yes... I am..." stuttered Hordak as he writhed uncomfortably in Scorpia's hug, "Was there some doubt in that fact?"

"Well, yeah," Scorpia explained as she let go of him, "Last we saw you, you had that big fight with Catra. You were nowhere to be found after that, so people just assumed Catra killed you and hid your body."

"I see," Hordak stated coldly, "I believe it is for the best that I am no longer a public figure here."

"Actually, it's great you're here right now!" Scorpia said, "I really need your advice!"

"My advice?" Hordak repeated, "I do not think anything I have to say would be of use to you."

"Oh, that's not true at all," Scorpia said, "You were running this place for the longest time. Here, sit down."

Scorpia pulled out a stool for the dark lord. Hordak stiffly sat down and held a tense posture.

"So, I've only been in charge for a short while," Scorpia explained, "And I think everyone hates me here."

"Oh, no!" Entrapta said, stopping her meal to put a sympathetic hand on Scorpia's claw, "How could anyone hate you? You're the nicest person I know."

"I concur with Princess Entrapta's findings," Hordak agreed, "While you were my Force Captain, your records showed you inspired great affection from the soldiers under your command. I think *that* is your problem, right now."

"Being liked is a problem?" Scorpia asked.

"While every great leader strives to be liked, even loved, by their subjects," Hordak explained, "They cannot rule effectively unless they also inspire a healthy amount of fear."

"But I don't want people to be afraid of me!" Scorpia replied.

"I think what Hordak is trying to say," Double Trouble translated, "Is that people need to know you are able to protect them from criminals and the rebellion."

"The reason you have so many criminals in your city is that they do not fear retribution from you," Hordak continued, "It is a problem that will continue to escalate if not quashed quickly."

"So you think I should ask Horde Prime to bring his troops down to help police everyone?" suggested Scorpia.

"If you require my brother's troops to secure your kingdom, you might as well abdicate," Hordak answered, "Besides a military presence will be nothing but counterproductive. I do not believe the citizens will appreciate a foreign army stationed in their city. That would only waste the resources required to house them and escalate an already tense situation. It is important to inspire fear and love from your subjects, but above all else you must let yourself inspire hatred."

"So what *should* I do?" asked Scorpia.

"My suggestion?" said Hordak, "Rumors were my most effective tool in combating dissent. Encourage others to tell stories of the terrible things that happen to those who defy you. Word of mouth will exaggerate your image depending on each citizen's sensibilities. They do not *have* to be true, but it will help the story spread if you make an example of a particularly heinous individual."

"So I have to find someone nobody likes and punish them as a warning to others?" Scorpia translated, "That sounds kinda cruel."

"Well, if you find that... distasteful, start small and escalate as need be, but do it quickly," suggested Hordak, "Perhaps first try morality tales of monsters and ghosts seeking revenge. I recall the Weeping Princess being particularly effective at stopping those breaking curfew."

"Wow," Scorpia exclaimed, "Tell people that if they steal, a monster will come and get them? Do you think that would really work?"

"It *did* work," Hordak assured, his green eyes looking past Scorpia at a piece of graffiti on the wall behind her proclaiming 'Hordak Lives', "I've noticed you Etherians tend to be a very superstitious and cowardly lot..."


	18. Part 2, The Dark Knight Returns

A patrol craft hovered over the remains of the Fright Zone, two of it's spotlights shining down on the empty streets below. The two Horde Clones piloting it examined the city carefully, their cold expressionless green eyes quickly darting between the computer terminals in front of them and the area illuminated by their respective spotlights. Scars remained of Catra's battle with Hordak during the final hours of his conquest of Etheria, curved lines of melted steel from Hordak's laser cannon made an intricate pattern in the central citadel. The spotlights of the patrol craft made the shadows flitter around in bizarre patterns along the tall buildings. One shadow looked like a gigantic bat flying in the night sky between the streets.

"This is Horde Unit Beta Gamma, reporting in," one of the clone soldiers spoke his computer terminal, "Situation nominal. It would appear to be a quiet night for once."

"I've got something strange on my scopes," reported the younger clone, "It keeps flicking in and out."

"I don't see anything, Delta Sigma," reported Beta Gamma, "Check your equipment for a malfunction."

"It's there," Delta Sigma reported, "It must be right below us."

As the clone finished speaking, a black shadow flew past his window, causing him to jump back in fear.

"There!" the young clone exclaimed, "Did you see that?!"

"See what?" Beta Gamma asked, turning to look out the other window.

"Nevermind," replied Delta Sigma, "You are correct. It is probably just a malfunction."

~*~

On one of the rooftops below, a lanky goat woman emptied a large bag of gold coins in front of her partner, a short and stocky four armed lizard. The lizard glanced around nervously.

"What's the matter?" asked Other Kyle, "You afraid of heights or something."

The lizard gave her partner an angry glare, while Other Kyle shuffled through the gold coins.

"Sweet, those tourists were loaded," Other Kyle noted, picking up a plastic rectangle, "Etherian Express Card, don't leave the castle without it."

Other Kyle's partner growled a noise.

"Quit your belly aching," Other Kyle shot back, "The kid will be alright, like he never saw a gun before. What are you so mopey about? We got away, didn't we?"

Her partner murmured something to herself.

"Hey, what happened to Gobbs in Salineas was his own stupid fault," Other Kyle reassured her partner, "Probably got drunk and picked a fight with the wrong guy."

Her partner gave a warning series of growls in response.

"The Bat?!" Other Kyle repeated mockingly, "Come on, buddy. Give me a break with that fairy tale baloney, will ya?"

Her partner continued looking around nervously.

"Look, girl," Other Kyle said reassuringly, "There ain't. No. Bat. Now shut up and let me count your cut."

Her partner gave out a loud snarl and pointed at something behind Other Kyle.

"Hey, do you want your cut of the take or not?" Other Kyle shouted angrily, "Shut up, will ya! Shut! Up!"

Other Kyle turned around to see what her partner was pointing at. Directly behind her stood an armored soldier that towered above them. The symbol of the old Etherian Horde, a red teardrop with large red batlike wings, was emblazoned on its chest below a glowing purple crystal. A long black cape flapped behind the figure in the wind. It's face was hidden by the darkness but Other Kyle saw two angry red eyes narrow at her.

"Book it!" ordered Other Kyle, as she and her partner ran in two separate directions.

Other Kyle headed towards the fire escape, and heard something make a loud snap behind her. A gun? No, too quiet. A crossbow, maybe? Other Kyle ducked as she ran, but felt something grab the back of her jacket, causing her to fall flat on her butt. She heard her lizard friend grunt from behind her as she also fell in the same fashion. A whirring noise sounded from between them and Other Kyle was dragged backwards. She collided into the back of her four armed partner with a loud smack. Shaking her head to recover, Other Kyle pulled out her gun and fired two shots at the armored creature with red eyes. The caped crusader was lit up briefly by the green energy blasts and fell backwards. Other Kyle saw a flash of red fangs on the soldier's grey face before it hit the ground. Dead.

Other Kyle took off her jacket and picked up her friend to begin their getaway anew. Other Kyle saw that her jacket was still being dragged behind her partner, attached to her friend by some kind of self-retracting cable with clawed hooks on each end. The two stopped for a second when they heard a cough from behind them. They looked back to see the monster rise up again and approach them. Other Kyle took out her weapon again and took aim, her partner following suit with her own gun. The creature flicked its wrist towards them and the two criminals dropped their guns as something sharp struck both of their hands. Other Kyle heard something metal hit the ground on her left.

The monster took a flying leap and tackled Other Kyle's partner to the ground with a loud crunch before it rolled forward back into a standing position. Other Kyle swung a punch at the creature who knocked out her friend, but it deftly dodged to the right. The monster's metal gauntlet grabbed Other Kyle by the throat and lifted her up in the air with one arm. Other Kyle struggled as the creature carried her over the edge of the roof.

"Don't kill me," Other Kyle begged, "Don't kill me, man. Please, don't kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you," the monster growled in a deep threatening voice, "I want you to do me a favour. I want you to tell all your lowlife friends about me."

"Oh, no," Other Kyle whined, "What are you, man?"

The monster pulled Other Kyle close to his grey batlike face.

"I am Hordak," he said, before throwing Other Kyle off the roof.

Other Kyle screamed in horror as the street below drew closer and closer to her face. She closed her eyes and threw her arms in front of her, awaiting the inevitable, before she felt a tug on her leg and she slowly stopped, hanging upside down in midair. Other Kyle looked at her feet to see a rubber cord attached to her ankle and the rooftop she fell from. A crack of thunder shook the sky from above and a flash of lightning illuminated the dark silhouette of the terrifying creature that attacked her on the roof above, it's cape billowing in the wind.

~*~

In the dark, ruined caves that once made up She-Ra's Crystal Castle, Entrapta was hard at work setting up her new workspace. A couple of bedrolls were set up in the corner next to an oil lantern with piles upon piles of unopened crates surrounding the campsite. Entrapta herself was assembling together a contraption the size of a small end table out of what appeared to be random parts of metal, cables and First One's crystals. If she noticed the gigantic metal facsimile of a spider come down from the ceiling on a thread of webbing, she gave no indication. Entrapta continued welding her creation together, as the robotic monstrosity silently landed and crawled carefully towards her.

Entrapta hummed playfully as she picked up a long piece of pipe next to her and handed it to one of her prehensile purple pigtails, completely focused on her work as the spider crept right behind her. It opened it's jaws and reeled back to strike, when her hair quickly slammed the pipe into the ground behind her. The pipe struck the robot between it's head and abdomen, impaling it onto the floor. The spider roared in terror as scuttled frantically on the ground, trying to pull itself free from the pipe.

"Shh!" hushed Entrapta, as her hair picked up a large piece of white cloth and wrapped it around the spider's screaming head, "I'm almost done. I'll be with you in a minute."

Entrapta picked up a tiny glowing crystal off the ground and carefully placed it in an indentation she made in the device she was making, soldering it into place. The device began whirring and began to glow brighter and brighter, until the entire chamber was cast in a dull red and purple light.

"Finally, we have power," Entrapta gasped in relief as she opened her welding mask, "It's so much better when you're able to see properly, don't you agree? Oh, right!"

Entrapta turned around and began untying the cloth from the spider's head as her hair pulled the pipe from out the ground. With the pipe removed, the spider's wound quickly repaired itself as if magically healed.

"Now, go on!" Entrapta ordered, her hair smacking the spider from behind with the pipe, "Get!"

Entrapta watched the spider as it scurried away deeper into the cave, not noticing the tall dark monster with red eyes behind her hunching over to grab her by the shoulders... and kiss her on the cheek.

"I see you are adapting well to your new environment," Hordak observed, "Are the accommodations to your liking?"

Entrapta turned around and angrily put her fists against her waist as her hair pushed her up to her lab partners face.

"You're late!" Entrapta scolded, wagging a finger at him, "Do you have any idea what would have happened if my serum wore off while you were gone?"

"I am well aware of the risks, Princess," growled Hordak, standing his ground to stare Entrapta in the eyes, "I believe I am the one who informed you of them, am I not? I have been-"

"No time for excuses," Entrapta interrupted, grabbing Hordak with her hair, "I need to get your armor off and put you back in bed before you 'wake up'."

"Very well," Hordak said, allowing Entrapta's hair to take piece after piece of metal from his body, "I am curious, Entrapta. How often have you been injecting me with this amnesic?"

"Oh, we've been doing this every night since our first date in Salineas," Entrapta explained, carefully stripping her partner, "Except for the whole nighttime vigilante part, today was a first."

"Every night?" Hordak repeated, "I don't remember any of this."

"Good, that means it's working!" Entrapta said, examining his scorched chest plate as she pulled it off, "Oh my! You got shot?!"

"A careless mistake," Hordak explained, "It won't happen again."

"Well, at least we know my armor works as... well... armor," said Entrapta optimistically, "What did you think of everything else?"

"Your equipment worked amazingly," Hordak complimented, "You truly are a genius, Entrapta."

"Enough of that!" said Entrapta, "Tell me what needs improvements so I can fix it."

"Of course," said Hordak, "The shock cord on the grapple device needs much more tensile strength, at least 200 pounds. That is partially why I took so long. I had to go through a number of miscreants until I found one light enough not to snap the cord in freefall."

"Well, you wanted it to be durable enough to stop a sword," Entrapta criticized, "I can increase the diameter of the cable but that will greatly reduce how much length I can fit inside the device."

"Perhaps we can design variable settings to improve utility," Hordak theorized, "Find a way to Double or Triple the cable used when I want to emphasize strength over range."

"I'll see what I can do," Entrapta said, "I still need to find a way to get all these weapons to the Resistance. But it's good that you're working out all the kinks for me beforehand."

"I quite enjoy testing your equipment out in the field, Entrapta," Hordak admitted, "Don't remember the last time I've felt this... alive. It's too bad I have to forget it all in the morning."

"I know, but it's so great to have you back, even for a little while," Entrapta said as she pulled off the last piece of armor, "Speaking of which, I'm finished. Time to get you in bed."

Hordak wrapped his skeletal arm around Entrapta's shoulders and leaned his weight against her to steady himself as she led him to the bedrolls. Even with assistance, it was easy to see how dependent he had become on his armor. Entrapta was strong enough to carry him by herself, but Hordak stubbornly clung to whatever autonomy he had left. As they approached the spartan sleeping arrangements, Hordak let go of Entrapta and waved her away as he carefully controlled his collapse to the floor. He crawled onto the nearest bedspread and lay on top of the pillow and covers.

"Thank you, Entrapta," Hordak said, grabbing her hand and removing her glove, "For everything you've done. I love you."

"I know," Entrapta said, as a tendril of hair tenderly caressed his head, "You tell me every night."

"Not nearly enough..." Hordak whispered before he kissed the back of her hand before closing his red eyes.

~*~

Horde Unit AK-13145's green eyes opened as he struggled to get up from the ground. He examined the room around him, purple light illuminating the glass walls, thin lines etched in the crystal forming bizzare images and patterns. On the wall behind the piles of wooden crates brought over from Dryl and the Fright Zone, Horde Alpha Kappa saw the lines formed an image of a woman with a tiara holding a sword pointed down.

"So this is the She-Ra's Crystal Castle..." Horde Alpha Kappa observed to himself, "Her very own... fortress... of solitude."

"Ooo," cooed a familiar nasally voice in the distance, "A Fortress of Solitude! I like the sound of that!"

Horde Alpha Kappa stood up, holding onto a crate for support and looked over the mess to see his lab partner crouched underneath a pile of computing equipment. She stood up and turned around and gave a wave as she opened her welding mask, revealing a bright smile.

"Good morning, Hordak!" Entrapta greeted, "Did you sleep okay?"

"I... don't know," the clone replied, "I do not remember having any troubles, but, for some reason, I feel exhausted."

"Oh, let's get you dressed!" Entrapta suggested, her hair quickly crawling her up to an open box and digging through it, "I have a new suit I want you to test out."

"You worry too much about my well-being, Princess," Hordak growled, as she pulled out bits and pieces of metal, "I am the one who is supposed to be taking care of you."

"We take care of each other," Entrapta scolded, bringing the pieces with her, "That's what partners are for."

"Of course," said Hordak as he allowed himself to be 'dressed' by Entrapta's hair, "How are you finding our new... assignment?"

"Oh, this place is amaaazing!" Entrapta shouted excitedly while she worked, "I already have so much data to go over, just from this room alone, and the complex goes down for miles! I could spend the rest of my life studying here and not even scratch the surface of all the secrets this place holds! I love it!"

"I'm happy you find such joy in our work," said Hordak as Entrapta finished assembling his suit, "I suppose that means we should make ourselves... comfortable here for the time being."

"Oh yes," Entrapta agreed, soldering a familiar purple crystal into the heart of the armor, "I don't think I've ever been happier than right now!"

As the crystal began glowing and the armor came to life, Entrapta wrapped her arms around it and gave Hordak a loud smooch on the lips. Hordak stood still as his cheeks began to flush in embarrassment.

"What..." Hordak stuttered, "What was that for?"

"Just something for you to remember later," Entrapta said as she closed her welding mask and returned to her work.


	19. Shadow Weaver, Session 1

Chapter 19 - Shadow Weaver, Session 1

And now here's the story of a planet that lost everything, and the one hero who had no choice but to keep them all together...

Aimee Carrero as Adora  
Vella Lovell as her coworker  
AJ Michalka as her girlfriend  
Marcus Scribner as her best friend  
Karen Fukuhara as her queen  
Lauren Ash as her girlfriend's ex  
Jacob Tobia as her therapist  
Featuring Keston John as her former boss  
and Lorraine Toussaint as her mother

It's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power...

Based on TV Shows created by Noelle Stevenson and Mitchell Hurwitz

Double Trouble had arranged a meeting between Catra and Adora to confront their adoptive mother, Shadow Weaver, on her abusive parenting. So far, their session had not made much progress.

"I don't think there's anything we need to discuss," Shadow Weaver explained before taking a sip of tea, "I don't regret anything I did while raising the two of you."

The two women sitting in opposite chairs loudly groaned simultaneously. The lizard creature sitting across from the sorceress slapped their hand over their face.

"Oh, come on!" screamed Catra.

"Are you serious, right now?!" asked Adora.

"Everything I've done has been to make the two of you strong self-sufficient women," Shadow Weaver continued, "It's not easy raising children in the Fright Zone. It certainly wasn't easy taking care of *you*."

Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed at Catra.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Catra responded as she unconsciously scratched the bloody bandage that covered the left side of her head, "You know only my left ear is deaf at the moment, right?"

"She thinks I'm overly critical," Shadow Weaver told Double Trouble, before squinting her eyes sinisterly, "That's another flaw of hers..."

Double Trouble was attempting to avoid eye contact as they wrote 'I've made a huge mistake' on their notepad.

"Overly critical? You?" Adora scoffed sarcastically, "Where would she possibly get that idea?"

"Why, really, Adora," Shadow Weaver gasped, "Haven't I done everything possible to make you the perfect soldier."

"You may have completed your objectives without any losses in your squad, Adora" Shadow Weaver said as she reviewed the teenage force captain's latest training excercise, "But don't you think you could have made faster time if you sacrificed Kyle to draw their fire?"

"Well, this is certainly what I expect from a new cadet, Adora," proclaimed Shadow Weaver as she gave a surprise inspection the young child's living quarters, "But your toys do not appear to be organized in any proper order and you have left cat hair all over your bed."

"You had better get this weight problem under control, Missy!" Shadow Weaver ordered the crying baby she was cradling in her arms, "Because the Horde isn't going to be paying for your damned liposuction anytime soon!"

"Look, I'm not sure this was a good idea," Adora told Double Trouble as she got up from her chair to poke her perfectly toned middle, "I think I need to go to the gym. I've been getting behind on my workouts."

"Adora, sit down," Catra ordered, "I know you're uncomfortable, but this has been a long time coming."

As Adora did as she was told and sat back down, Shadow Weaver realized the two women had finally gotten over their differences to unite against her and had decided to put a stop to it.

"I'm surprised you're even talking to each other, Catra," Shadow Weaver said, "After Adora left, you wouldn't stop talking about how happy you were to finally get rid of her, about how terrible it was to be stuck in her shadow..."

"Don't change the subject," said Adora, "That was a long time ago, Catra's changed now."

It was a six months ago.

"But it was much more recent when we last talked, Adora," Shadow Weaver stated smugly, "When you told Glimmer how much you hated that cruel monster and everything she did to you."

"You weren't supposed to be a part of that conversation," Adora shouted, "For all you knew, I was talking about you."

She wasn't.

"I can't believe you're listening to Shadow Weaver over me," Adora told Glimmer as they stood with Bow outside Shadow Weaver's gazebo.

"I'm listening to everyone before I make a decision this big," Glimmer explained, "If we don't do something, the Horde is going to win this war. And so far, the Heart of Etheria looks like our *only* option."

"And what happens if something goes wrong?" asked Bow, "Even if it works the way we intend it too, a lot of people are going to get hurt."

"Yeah, the Horde," Glimmer snarked, "The people we're fighting, remember?"

"They're still people, Glimmer," Adora argued, "We can't risk what might happen to them."

"I can't believe this," Glimmer shouted, pointing a finger in Adora's face, "You're still worried about hurting your girlfriend, Catra."

"She's not my girlfriend!" yelled Adora, "Whatever we were before, she's a cruel monster now and I hate her for everything she's done! But that doesn't mean we should use this magic we don't fully understand."

"I think we're getting a bit off topic here," Double Trouble interjected.

Double Trouble could see what was going on, because Shadow Weaver was using the exact same technique that they themselves used to break Glimmer and Adora apart not too long ago.

"Tell me, Shadow Weaver," said Double Trouble, writing down 'I see where Catra gets her possessive tendencies', "Why do you feel the need to instigate discord between Adora and Catra?"

"I'm simply pointing out how nice it is to see two hated enemies working together for once," Shadow Weaver remarked, feigning innocence, "I really don't see how this is any of your business to be honest. I don't even think you're a real therapist."

"I have a diploma in clinical psychiatry that says otherwise," Double Trouble argued.

Double Trouble's 'Diploma' was, in fact, a cardboard poster painted by themself with Lost Valley University stamped on the corner. According to all known records, LVU is not and has never been a recognized academic institution in Etheria.

"Well, if I made as many bad calls as you did last week," Shadow Weaver commented, "I would have asked for my tuition back."

Shadow Weaver was not referring to Double Trouble's profession, but to their performance as an umpire at a baseball game set up with mixed teams of the Princesses of Etheria and former members of Hordak's horde. Double Trouble had hoped the friendly game would help ease tensions between the former combatants, however some players took the competition somewhat too seriously.

"Loose whale," called out Catra, kneeling in a catching position between Mermista and Double Trouble, "I repeat, the Whale is loose."

"Strike one!" announced Double Trouble after Scorpia tossed the ball to Catra.

"No Junk!" shouted Catra, as Hordak stepped up to bat, "No Junk here! Let's go!"

"Strike two!" continued Double Trouble as Hordak's claws bent the aluminium club he was holding.

"Short fuse!" yelled Catra, while Glimmer walked up to the plate, "Oh, wait, Sparkles, is that your dad over there?!"

"What?!" exclaimed Glimmer as a ball flew past her head while she was looking through the trees of the nearby woods, "Where?!"

"Strike three!" Double Trouble finished, "You're out!"

"What are you talking about?!" Shadow Weaver called out from the bleachers, "That ball was so high up you could have hit Mysticore with it!"

"Your drink, ma'am," offered a Brightmoon servant holding a cup in front of her.

"Take it back!" ordered Shadow Weaver, "If I wanted to drink something your thumb touched, I would have made myself a glass of bleach from the supply closet!"

Shadow Weaver looked around wondered why she was getting strange looks from the other spectators, made up of friends and family of the other princesses, as the two teams switched positions for the next inning.

"Hey, Catra," Scorpia said as she snuck up behind Catra to rub her shoulders with her claws.

"Ack!" Catra said, jumping away in pain, "Don't do that! You almost caught my tendon there!"

"Oh, right, you don't like that," Scorpia said apologetically as they both went into the dugout to sit down, "Speaking of things people don't like, don't you think that last one was a little bit too mean?"

"Oh yeah, like the all powerful princesses can't take a little trash talk..." said Catra sarcastically, "If they get to teleport from base to base or use that stupid magic hair to catch balls, I should be able to throw an insult around."

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt over a stupid game," Scorpia said, noticing for the first time Catra's new white uniform representing her new position in the Horde, "Oh, hey, is that a new suit?"

"Huh, oh yeah," Catra replied, "The old one sort of... got destroyed."

"YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!" screamed Hordak as he fired his arm mounted laser cannon at the scaffolding above the fleeing catgirl, spilling dust and debris all over her.

"Oh, that's too bad," Scorpia said sympathetically, "I really liked that one. Gave you a real dominator vibe."

"Don't worry about it," Catra said, "It's not a big deal."

Catra did think it was a big deal.

"Hold the door!" called out Kyle from underneath the mess of supplies he was carrying.

"Oh, right, the girl in the one thousand gold ducat suit is going to hold the elevator for the bottom level grunt," Catra shouted sarcastically as the lift doors closed, "COME ON!"

"And so I'm going back to the crimson waste to pick up that stupid first one's ship," Catra groaned as she relaxed on the skiff, "I just hope I don't get sand on this two thousand gold ducat suit. COME ON!"

"Careful with that, you clumsy oaf!" Catra screamed at Scorpia as she brought her her coffee, "Do you want to spill coffee on this three thousand gold ducat suit? COME ON!"

"I mean it was just a... what? ...Five hundred gold ducat suit?" Catra chuckled as she sat next to Scorpia waiting for her turn at bat, "Come on."

Meanwhile, Adora had decided to take that moment between innings to confront an old enemy who, at one point in her life, she looked up to in reverence. However, because of her new haircut and the fact that they never seriously interacted, Hordak failed to recognize her.

"What do you think you are doing here?" Adora accused Hordak.

"The Princess Entrapta asked me to come," Hordak answered sincerly, "Why? Have we met before?"

"Have we met before?!" Adora shouted angrily, "You lied and manipulated me to fight your stupid war."

"I never lie," Hordak replied, "I think you may have me confused with someone else."

She didn't.

"You took me away from my family when I was a baby," accused Adora as she was handcuffed around a post in Hordak's sanctum, "You lied to me my whole life, about the Princesses, about Etheria, about who I am!"

"I could not have lied to you about who you are," Hordak explained as he worked to complete his portal device, "I have never known nor cared about someone as inconsequential as you."

And he still didn't.

"Ah, yes... Adora," Hordak said, feigning realization, "Entrapta's friend... she speaks very highly of you."

"Entrapta's friend?" Adora repeated in confusion, "I was your Force Captain. Shadow Weaver told me you chose me specifically to lead the attack on the Princess Fortress in Draymore."

"Princess Fortress?" Hordak said as he cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"Shadow Weaver," ordered Hordak from his throne, "Queen Angela's forces have retreated to Brightmoon after our assault on Esamir. They have left the border town of Draymore completely undefended. We shall make them pay for their carelessness."

"I shall order Force Captain Grizzlor to attack at once," replied Shadow Weaver.

"No," Hordak commanded, "I want the bulk of our forces to continue marching towards Brightmoon. It is possible that this may be a trap. Send one of your junior officers. If it is a trap, it will be no major loss. If not, then it will be free territory for our cause. In any case, it may prove to be a good distraction from our main offensive and give our new commander some valuable combat experience."

"As you wish, Lord Hordak," Shadow Weaver said, bowing in reverance, "I know the perfect candidate."

"I do not care," Hordak replied, "Just get it done."

"I don't believe it," Adora responded, "I should have known Shadow Weaver was lying to me about that, too."

"Shadow Weaver lies to everyone," Hordak explained, "I do not see how that is, in anyway, unbelievable."

"Whatever," said Adora, "So you and Entrapta are supposed to be fixing my sword after I broke it."

"No, we were fixing the She-Ra's Sword of Protection after *she*..." Hordak began before he finally realized who we was talking to, "You're the She-ra."

Hordak closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose as Adora gave him a look of frustration.

"My apologies," Hordak said, "Entrapta's work on your sword has stalled for the time being. We have instead chosen to make progress on the Heart of Etheria itself."

Hordak and Entrapta have not made any progress, in fact. Entrapta has been spending her time building non-lethal weapons out of First One's technology to give to Bow and the resistance, which Hordak had been testing at night on the criminals of the Fright Zone. In order to keep their activities a secret from Horde Prime and the other clones, Entrapta had developed a drug to induce amnesia in Hordak. Side effects include violent tendencies, recurrant memory loss, increased feelings of camaraderie, numbness of the extremities and damage to pituitary gland. The citizens of the Fright Zone have begun spreading horror stories of the phantom former horde leader who rose from the grave to wreak vengeance on the living.

"Help!" screamed an elderly woman running down the industrial streets of the Fright Zone, "It's the Bat-Ghost! He killed that poor man who tried to rob me!"

"Stop running, you senile crone!" Hordak roared angrily as he chased after the woman, covered in red liquid and clutching a pink purse, "I have procured your valuables receptical from your attacker!"

"I destroyed that sword for a reason," Adora hissed angrily, "The Heart of Etheria is too dangerous for anyone to use."

"Do not speak such treason to me, cur," Hordak hissed back, "And do not forget my brother's mercy in choosing to spare your desolate rock of a planet, lest he decide to rescind this courtesy."

Adora said nothing as she turned away to take her position as pitcher and decided to focus her mind on the game. Perfuma was first at bat, positioning herself in front of Glimmer and Double Trouble at the home plate. Adora threw an underhanded lob over the plate and Perfuma closed her eyes as she swung. The bat gave a loud 'tink' as it connected with the ball, which flew a short distance before hitting the ground in front of the third base. Entrapta ran to pick it up and threw it across the field to Mermista, who caught it just after Perfuma arrived at her base and had begun dusting off her dress.

"I probably should have worn something more practical today, like you and Adora," Perfuma thought aloud, gesturing at Mermista's blue scaled sweatpants as she threw the ball back to Adora, "How have you been doing? I've been meaning to come over to see you, but I didn't know if Salineas was ready to take visitors yet."

"It's... fine..." Mermista grunted, her eye twitching a bit, "Things are starting to get back to... well, not normal... but at least livable."

"Strike one!" called out Double Trouble as Catra swung at Adora's fastball.

"It's nice to get everyone together for once," Perfuma said, taking the hint to change the subject, "Was that Seahawke I saw arriving with you in port?"

"Huh, yeah," Mermista said, "I told him to stay in town to keep an eye on the ship."

"And did he shave his mustache and put on a dress?" Perfuma asked.

"Yeah, I have no idea why he's doing that," Mermista answered.

Mermista did have some idea of why he was doing that. Seahawke had left Salineas to join the rebellion in the Whispering Woods, but had quickly grown homesick and had started to become a something of problem for morale.

"Look, Seahawke," said Bow, "It's really been great having you here. But I have an important mission for you, from the Resistance."

"A mission, you say," Seahawke replied, "Will it be a grand ADVENTURE?!"

"Suuure!" Bow answered, "We need you to go back to Salineas... to... spy... on the Horde there."

"A spy in Salineas..." Seahawke repeated as he twirled his mustache, "I think I see what is going on, here."

"Look, I'm sorry," Bow apologized, "It's just that people have been-"

"My own sweet little cupid!" Seahawke exclaimed as he gave Bow a big hug, "You're trying to reunite me with my lost love across the sea! Well, feel free to stick your arrow in my buttocks anytime!"

"Yeah, speaking of which," Bow replied, handing an electronic device to Seahawke, "I want you to take this audio recorder with you."

"To record any nefarious schemes I might come across?" Seahawke suggested.

"No, I want you to record yourself all day and listen to it before you go to bed," Bow explained, "You've been saying a bunch of things that have starting sounding, kind of inappropriate for the other soldiers."

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Seahawke asked sincerely, "I've taken care that my tongue is clean enough for everyone's ears!"

Seahawke had returned to Salineas in disguise to get a job as Princess Mermista's new handmaiden, Mrs. Suspicious Arson. The cover was based on one of his favorite stories as a child. Mermista had seen through the disguise right away, but decided to hire him anyway because it let her keep him around without having to admit she liked having him around. Also, her palace had never been cleaner.

"Strike Two!" called out Double Trouble as Catra missed another swing at Adora's curveball.

"Well, let me know if she wants any advice from someone with experience in this sort of thing," Perfuma offered Mermista, "I remember how difficult it was when I first realized I was a woman. Is she still going by Seahawke?"

"I don't think Seahawke is even his real name," Mermista theorized, "I mean what kind of a name is that?"

It was his name. Seahawke was found as a baby washed up on a shore about to be pecked to death by a large bird of prey. He was rescued, named and raised by the monks of a local seaside monestary, the Brotherhood of Perpetual Refrain, a religious cult that believed in spreading joy throughout Etheria with the power of music. The monks often took on a vow of singing, only being allowed to communicate in song and rhyme.

"Welcome to our Abbey!" sang Brother Alfred the Bizarre to a group of visitors, "We're really glad you came! We can offer you some food and a no-stakes poker game! Cause we're the monks! Hey, hey! We're the monks!"

"Jazz haaands!" sang a handsome young brown-haired boy from behind, wearing a blue jacket and red scarf.

Mermista and Perfuma were interrupted by a loud 'tink' that rang through the air as Catra managed to hit the ball, sending it flying over Adora. Perfuma picked up her skirt and began running towards Hordak at second base who silently stared at the ball as it flew through the air and landed at his feet.

"What are you doing?" Adora called out.

"Hordak!" Entrapta instructed, "Pick up the ball and throw it to Mermista."

"As you wish, Princess," Hordak replied, doing as he was told.

Mermista caught the ball long after Catra already arrived at first base and had begun stretching, taking an inordinate amount of pride of her minor victory.

"Don't worry he was pretty much useless when I worked with him too," Catra snarked, facing away from Mermista to look at Adora.

Mermista tried her best to ignore Catra and focus on the game. Scorpia had just stepped up to the plate.

"Honestly, he was such a pathetic nerd hiding out in his lab," Catra explained, "It felt like I had to physically drag him to Salineas to get him to do anything."

Mermista's eyes twitched as she continued staring at Scorpia, who stood perfectly still as a ball was lobbed past her.

"Strike one," called out Double Trouble.

"Oh, well, at least it looks like you guys finally managed to ditch your own loser," Catra observed, playfully stroking her chin, "What was that guy's name again? Had a stupid looking sailboat... I wanna say Ocean Breeze?"

"His name... is Seahawke..." Mermista whispered under her breath, her angry eyes focused on Scorpia continuing to stay still as another easy ball slowly flew past her.

"Strike two," Double Trouble called out

"Oh, for Etheria's sake," Catra cursed, continuing to ignore Mermista in favor of Scorpia, "JUST SWING, YOU GIGANTIC RED CHICKEN! CAW-CA-CAW! CAW-CA-CAW!"

Catra began clapping her hands and hopping on alternating feet. It was something of a tradition amongst Horde soldiers to admonish cowards by performing a dance imitating a popular cowardly flightless bird in Etheria. Unfortunately, most soldiers in the Fright Zone had never actually seen a chicken, only Shadow Weaver had seen an actual bird before, resulting in a wide variety of bad impersonations.

"Swing, you imbecile! They haven't been calling balls all game!" Shadow Weaver shouted from the bleachers, before majestically flapping her arms, "A Coodle-doodle doo! A Coodle-doodle doo!"

Catra's chicken dance in particular just coincidentally happened to be an incredibly offensive gesture in Salineas culture, generally used to refer to one's mother as resembling a sealion. Had Catra known this, she may have not chosen that specific method of motivation. She may also have noticed Mermista sneak away into her team's dugout to pick up the bat Hordak had bent in the previous inning before slowly returning to first base, just as Scorpia missed her third ball.

"Stike Three! You're out!" Double Trouble called out, just before a loud 'tink!' was heard throughout the field, followed by the thump of something soft and furry landing on the dirt.

Uncomfortable silence filled the air as the remaining players waited on the bleachers for news. Adora sat sternly trying not to show how worried she was. Scorpia could tell she was tense and offered to give her a backrub. Perfuma tried to occupy herself with growing a tiny rose on the field. Frosta was doing the same with a small ice sculpture. Hordak held an awkward reassuring claw on Entrapta's shoulder. Shadow Weaver was arguing with Double Trouble about a number of calls during the game. Mermista sulked in the corner with her arms folded, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone else. Glimmer approached her.

"What in Etheria's name was that all about?" Glimmer shouted at Mermista.

"I'm sorry, Glimmer," Mermista said ashamed, "I just... I couldn't control myself."

"Magic spell couldn't control yourself or 'I'm an stupid emotional child' couldn't control yourself," Glimmer scolded.

"That's rich, coming from little Miss Mommy Issues," Mermista shot back.

"Come on, Mermista, work with me here," Glimmer said, "You don't think I haven't wanted to smack Catra in her stupid smug face every single time I see her. But right now we have to be careful-"

"I know, I know," Mermista growled in frustration, "Can't be anything but Horde Prime's perfect little angels right now, until the boys come and rescue us. I don't get you, Glimmer. You sound *just* like your mother right now. Like, whatever happened to the Glimmer who would do whatever it took to stop the Horde?"

"She made the biggest mistake in her life and made everything worse," Glimmer said, "Which is why she's trying to stop you from doing the same."

"She was-!" Mermista shouted before taking a deep breath and whispering, "Catra was gloating about destroying Salineas."

"What?!" Glimmer said in shock, "Wooow, that's horrible. Even for her."

"I know, right?" Mermista said.

Glimmer turned around to see the royal physician arrive on the field. Adora and Scorpia ran up to him together.

"Is Catra going to be okay?" Adora asked the healer, "Can I talk to her?"

"You can talk to her, but she won't have anything to say," the healer replied, "We had to put her to sleep."

"Sweet Etheria, no," Adora gasped as her hand came up to her mouth.

"You euthanized her?" Scorpia asked, a tear falling from her eye.

"No, we put her in a medical coma," the healer explained, "Her concussion should go away in about a week. We're mostly worried about the damage to her ear. Her hearing is going to be all right after we take the bandages off."

"Oh, thank Etheria," Adora breathed in relief.

"Well, that's good to know," Scorpia said.

"I'm so glad to see you taking this so well," the healer observed with a smile, "It's not everyday one of my friends goes deaf."

"But you just said her hearing is alright," Adora replied.

"Yes, it was her left ear that was damaged," the healer said with confusion, "So her hearing is going to be all *right* from now on."

"You son of a Pooka!" Scorpia shouted as her claws grabbed the healer by the collar.

"What is wrong with you?!" Adora shouted at him.

"Yes, that is more how I would react," the healer stated calmly as he held on to Scorpia's claws to keep his balance.

"Scorpia! Let him go," Glimmer ordered, teleporting down from the bleachers in between Scorpia and the physician, "He's just a very *literal* man."

Scorpia opened her pincers and the physician fell to the ground before calmly picking himself up, dusting off his clothes and walking away.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Glimmer said, "If Catra's hearing doesn't return on it's own we can just use magic to heal her. Right, She-Ra?"

"Don't look at me; I broke the sword remember," Adora said, gesturing to Hordak and Entrapta on the bench, "And according to Brightmoon's public enemy number one, it's not coming back."

"Fine, then we'll use good old fashioned Mysticore magic," Glimmer said, before teleporting between Double Trouble and Shadow Weaver's argument, "Enough of that! Do you know any healing spells?"

As Glimmer grabbed Shadow Weaver and both of them disappeared in a cloud of Sparkles, Adora and Scorpia sighed and sat back down on the bleachers in front of Entrapta and Hordak. Entrapta saw this as the perfect moment to test out her attempts at training Hordak in social interaction. She smiled as her hair picked up her lab partner and placed him one rung lower. Hordak silently turned around and shook his head furiously at the Dryl Princess, who only responded with a simple nod. Hordak sighed in defeat as he stood up, cleared his throat and clasped his claws behind his back.

"I... do not believe the Horde Liason will suffer any permanent damage," Hordak said, in his best attempt at being reassuring, "Catra is far too stubborn to let a mere blunt object phase her. And for her many, many... *many* failings of character, Shadow Weaver is still a brilliant sorceress and teacher. I'm sure a matter such as this would be childsplay for her and the Brightmoon Queen."

Adora crossed her arms and tried to ignore the clone behind her.

"You... appear to have a substantial amount of concern for the wellbeing," Hordak observed.

"Well, that's what happens when you love someone," Adora replied.

"Who?" Hordak asked.

Adora turned around and gave Hordak an angry glare.

"My apologies," Hordak said, "I misspoke. What I meant to say was... 'Her?'"

"Okaaay!" interrupted Double Trouble, walking over, "I think we've all had a very trying day, some more than others. So how about we all just go home and we'll find out what happens in the morning."

Double Trouble quickly sat down next to Adora and pulled their mouth close to her ear.

"I am sooo sorry!" Double Trouble nervously whispered to Adora and Scorpia, "I made a huge mistake! This was all my fault! I should have known you guys wouldn't be ready for something like this!"

And it was at that moment when Adora realized, if there was any hope of the two sides truly reconciling, she would have to take the first step.

"Actually..." Adora began, "I'm gonna stay for a bit longer and just throw the ball around. Did any of you guys want to stick around for a bit?"

"I down for that," Scorpia said hopefully, "I mean... if it's alright with you."

"Of course, it's alright," Perfuma said, walking over with the other princesses to place a caring hand on Scorpia's shoulder, "There's so much I wanted to catch up on."

"As long as we all agree Mermista has to stay far away from the bats," said Frosta, playfully patting Mermista's thigh.

"Yeah... I deserved that," Mermista groaned.

"Unfortunately, the Princess Entrapta and I are very busy and we must-" Hordak began before a tendril of purple hair flicked his ear, "I mean, I'm sure we can fit some physical recreation into our schedule."

And as Adora played catch with her friends and the closest thing to a father she ever knew, she saw the family she always wanted to be a part of.

"Oh, give me a break," said Shadow Weaver from the couch in Double Trouble's office, "Hordak is just trying to get back at me by proving he's closer to you and Catra then I will ever be. But the joke is on him, because he doesn't know how little I care about Catra."

"Gee... Thanks alot," Catra commented sarcastically as she nervously stroked her bandage, "It's the little insults that really make the head trauma all worth it."

"You don't need a smug, 'I told you so' from me," Shadow Weaver said smugly, "Because smug it would be, and told you so I most certainly did."

"What are you even talking about?" Catra asked, "I did everything you told me to."

"Wait," Adora told Catra, "What are *you* even talking about?"

Catra groaned as she struggled to get the catcher's gear on over her new Horde uniform. From behind the chainlink fence, she heard the familiar flutter of Shadow Weaver floating towards her.

"Come to humiliate me for agreeing to this stupid game," Catra said.

"Actually, I came to give you some advice," Shadow Weaver offered, "You are far too weak and powerless to defeat these princesses if you play by their rules. Use every advantage you have at your disposal, use their own secrets and insecurities against them. And then, when they are too distraught to fight, crush them."

"I've been getting by quite fine without your advice," Catra said, "Maybe I'm stronger than you think."

"Fine then, ignore me," Shadow Weaver replied smugly, "I'm sure Adora won't care if you look like a loser in front of all her new friends."

Catra's eye twitched as Shadow Weaver slowly floated back to the bleachers.

"WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO HER?!" Adora shouted in frustration, "Have you learned nothing living with her our entire lives?"

"Well, I'm sorry, okay!" Catra retorted, "Don't you think I've suffered enough?!"

"You're right, I'm sorry," Adora apologized before turning back to Shadow Weaver, "What in Etheria were you thinking?"

"I don't understand the question," Shadow Weaver explained, "And I won't respond to it."

"Why did you tell Catra to insult everyone during the game?" Adora reworded.

"I only did what I've always done for you," Shadow Weaver said, "I've tried to make the two of you strong, self sufficient women who don't need each other or anyone else. The least you could do is so some gratitude for taking care of you all these years."

"You want gratitude!" Adora shouted, "Stop lying! Stop manipulating! Stop pitting us against each other! For once in your life! JUST! BE! NICE!"

"But..." Shadow Weaver began, turning to look at the woman staring angrily at her on her left, the chameleon giving a stern look of judgement in front of her and the bandaged catgirl avoiding her gaze, "I... I've been a terrible mother."

Catra and Adora stared at the woman who raised them in her feigned moment of weakness, and once again fell for another lie and manipulation from her.

"Nooo..." Adora said, "Don't say that."

"Are you kidding?" Catra said, "You've been a great mom."

Double Trouble simply covered their face with their hands and groaned loudly.

~*~

On the next session of therapy...

Seahawke takes Bow's advice and listens to the things he says over the course of a day.

"During the war, I managed to take on fifty strapping young horde soldiers at the same time," the recording said.

"Nothing wrong with that," Seahawke said as he skipped to the next message.

"Now that is one fine man's cave I wouldn't mind exploring," continued the recording.

"Out of context," Seahawke said as he moved on.

"...no matter what it costs me. Even if it means me taking a meaty swing in the mouth, then I will suck it up!"

And realizes that there is indeed something pecular about the way he talks.

"Oh, Seahawke," he told himself, "You blowhard!"

Dreamworks finds out what a multiple award winning filmmaker charges to narrate their streaming cartoon.

"The kid from Happy Days wants how much?!" Spinnerella says in shock.

"Babe, we're still recording," Netossa harshly whispered.

And Double Trouble realizes they may have developed feelings that were less than professional for one their clients.

"Thank you for all your help, DT," Scorpia said as she got up to leave, "I'm going to tell Perfuma right away how I feel about her."

"I've made a huuuge mistake," Double Trouble said to themself as soon as Scorpia was out of earshot.


	20. Scorpia, Session 4

"So, I was wondering if today I could talk to you about something personal," Scorpia asked as she lay on the couch.

"Hmm, of course," Double Trouble answered, writing down on their notepad, "What would you like to talk about?"

"So I have this friend, who I've only met recently," Scorpia explained, "That I think I'm really starting to like."

"That is what I like to hear," Double Trouble said encouragingly, "I'm so happy to see you expanding your social circle."

"No, I mean, like, *like* like," Scorpia said, "Like, yaknow how I used to feel about Catra?"

"Ooooo, I see..." Double Trouble cooed scandalously, putting their hand to their lips as they curled into a sly smirk, "Anyone I know?"

"That's just it," Scorpia replied, "I don't want this person to know how I feel about them until I've sort of got everything figured out myself, which is why I wanted to talk to you about it first."

"That's why I'm here for you, honey," Double Trouble said, writing down another note, "When did you first notice these feelings?"

"I think I first noticed them about a week ago," Scorpia said, "But this... person... has been really helpful to me ever since we met, just before the end of the war. The thing is, most of our interactions have been monetary based. I've been paying them for stuff, so I don't know how much of our friendship is just based on us doing business together."

"Have all of you interactions been about business?" Double Trouble asked, writing down another note, "Have you done anything socially together?"

"Actually, yeah, now that you mention it," Scorpia recollected, "This person came to the Fright Zone to visit me a few times, and there was that game we played together where Catra got hit with a bat."

"Uggh, don't remind me," Double Trouble said, rubbing their head as they scribbled down another note.

"Yeah, I really hope she gets better soon," Scorpia said, "At least, she has Adora to look after her now."

"Let's get back on topic," Double Trouble said, "So how did this person come across during these social moments?"

"Well, we didn't interact much during the game," Scorpia said, "But afterwards when we were playing catch in the field, I think we really had a big connection there. That's when I first realized what I was feeling."

"Uh, huh," Double Trouble said, writing down another note.

"This... person... they always went out of their way to make me feel included... welcome," Scorpia said, "It's the first time anyone has ever treated me like that... Like I'm someone worth going out of their way for."

"I... see..." Double Trouble said, side eyeing Scorpia to try to read her expression as they continued writing.

"One thing is... I've always been attracted to girls," Scorpia said, "And this person definitely isn't a boy, but they have... boy parts."

"Oh..." Double Trouble said, before realizing what she meant and frantically scribbling something down, "Ohhh!"

"So I don't know if that's going to be a problem in our relationship," Scorpia said, "I mean, if we do start a relationship."

"Well, you're asking the wrong person about that," Double Trouble explained, licking their finger to smooth out their hair, "I'm always very flexible when it comes to that sort of thing. Besides, gender isn't really a thing for my species. At least, I don't think it is. I don't know if I've ever met another shapeshifter before."

Double Trouble tapped their pen against their lips as they became lost in thought. Scorpia waited a few minutes, staring at Double Trouble in silence, before she coughed into her claw and shook them back to reality.

"Whatever," Double Trouble said, "The point is... the only person who can know what is, or isn't, a problem for you in that department... is you. So ask yourself, 'Would... boy parts... be an absolute deal breaker for you?'"

"Well... I gueeess not, if I really like the person," Scorpia thought aloud, stroking her chin with her claw, "And I do really like them."

"Then I'd say go for it," Double Trouble suggested, writing something else down, "Tell the person how you feel and see where this new relationship takes you."

"It's just that..." Scorpia said, "I'm kinda worried what their answer would be. I mean, getting rejected would be bad enough. But this is someone I have to work with, yaknow?"

"Oh, Scorpia..." Double Trouble said, pausing as they finished what they were writing on the notepad and putting it away, "You are a strong, brave, beautiful young princess who is caring and loyal to a fault. Any man, woman or shapeshifter would be lucky to have you. Anyone who says otherwise would be completely insane. Trust me, I'm a therapist. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"I mean, do you really think so?" Scorpia said.

"I know so," Double Trouble affirmed, leaning forward with their hands over their knees, "You're quite the catch, Scorpia."

"Wow... Yeah, you're right," Scorpia said, "I am pretty great, aren't I?"

"Oh, yes," Double Trouble said, giving the warmest smile they could muster, "So, is there anything you wanted to say to me?"

"Oh! Yeah," Scorpia exclaimed, "Double Trouble..."

"Yes?" Double Trouble encouraged.

Scorpia sat up from the couch and shuffled her boots on the carpeted floor. A moment of silence filled the room as Double Trouble stared deeply into Scorpia's eyes.

"Thank you for all your help, DT," Scorpia said as she got up to leave, "I'm going to tell Perfuma how I feel right away."

"Perfuma..." Double Trouble repeated dreamily, their smiling face frozen in shock, "You were talking about Princess Perfuma..."

"Of course!" Scorpia said, grabbing her things, "Who else would I be talking about?"

"Right," Double Trouble said, keeping their face smiling, "How silly of me. Good luck, Scorpia. I'm sure things will turn out great for you."

"Thanks again," Scorpia said, waving goodbye as they opened the door, "See you next week."

After Scorpia closed the door, Double Trouble slunk back in their chair and covered their face with both hands.

"Ugggh..." groaned Double Trouble, "I've made a huuuge mistake."

~*~

DT's Notes

Scorpia, Session 4  
-Scorpia wants to take control of this session today, fine by me  
-Asking me for romantic advice with an unknown suitor, let's see who it could be...  
-Met just before the end of the war, Mostly business interactions,  
-Was at the baseball game, definitely narrows it down.  
-Played catch, so not Glimmer or any of the spectators.  
-Wait a second... Is she talking about me? Am I her crush?  
-Sweet Hordak's Ghost, Scorpia has a crush on me. Play it cool, DT.  
-So I guess we're doing this.  
-I should have known, she wants to see how I feel about her before asking me directly. Scorpia's much more devious then she lets on.  
-That didn't go very well  
-On the plus side, I've finally figured out how make myself cry on command, so yay me!


	21. Mermista, Session 4

"So Catra and Hordak get to wage war against the rest of Etheria and destroy my home and now we're all supposed to be buddy buddy," Mermista groaned as she sat with her arms and legs folded on the couch, "But I lose my temper *one* time and suddenly *I'm* the crazy psycho no one wants to be around."

"Now you have to admit," Catra said from their chair, writing down a note, "Conking Catra across the head with a baseball bat in the middle of a field full of spectators did take everyone by surprise."

"Now, dearie," said a falsetto voice attempting a poor imitation of a posh english accent, "I'm sure everyone understands why you needed to give that evil old Catra the old what for, eh what?"

"I'm sorry," Catra addressed the person in a housekeeper's apron wearing a grey wig who was currently tenderly stroking Mermista's hand, "I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Oh, ah yes, how silly of me," the handmaiden previously known as Seahawke replied, "Missus Sah-spee-she-us Arson, the Princess Mermista's new royal handmaiden."

"Yes, Miss Arson," Catra said, trying to smile politely as they wrote down another note, "I don't think that kind of talk is really all that helpful right now."

"Oh, what poppycock," Mrs. Arson scoffed, flapping her hand at Catra, "Is it not true that Catra currently has your poor friend Adora in her clutches and torturing her as we speak?"

"I mean... that's one way to put it, I guess," Mermista said, her head cocked to one side in thought, "I really don't see what Adora sees in her. Why she got back together with her, I'll never know."

"Got back... together?" Mrs. Arson repeated in confusion.

"Oh, yeah, you weren't at the game," Mermista realized, "So you didn't get to see Adora doting over her like she was her stupid mom or something."

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Arson said to herself, stroking her chin in worry, "Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear. I believe someone may have cocked up something very royally somewhere. I should find some way to inform Master Bow at once."

Catra gave Mrs. Arson a quiet look of confusion. Mermista simply sighed and caressed her forehead in shame.

"That is, what I meant to say is..." Mrs. Arson stuttered, "I should make sure the... Master of the Boat... has used the... proper caulking... on our royal schooner. I don't believe the hull has been properly secured against a leak. Yes, that's it..."

"The point is..." Mermista said, quickly changing the subject, "Everyone is so quick to forgive the Horde for everything they've done. You and Scorpia at least switched sides at the end of the war, even if I think it was a little last minute. Hordak is the only one who I've actually heard apologize for everything, and that is like... the absolute bare minimum. What has Catra done for us lately?"

"Some would say that, right now, Catra is the reason any of us are still alive to hate her," Catra said, writing down another note, "She *did* convince Horde Prime not to destroy our world."

"Yeah, and she's the whole reason Horde Prime was here to destroy us in the first place," Mermista argued, "She almost destroyed Etheria herself when she opened that stupid portal."

"Now, I'm not saying it's right or fair," said Catra as they continued writing, "But people tend to view one another's... redeemability... by their moral acceleration rather than their velocity."

"You've... just... completely lost me," Mermista said.

"What I mean to say is," Catra explained, "The other princesses are more willing to appreciate Catra's changes *because* she was such an awful person to begin with and they want to encourage her current course correction. Conversely, they view your recent actions more harshly because they've come to know as such as brave and noble friend, and likewise want to discourage your newfound violent tendencies."

"Violent tendencies?" Mermista repeated angrily, "We were at war! A couple months ago, the Princess Alliance would be cheering me if I did what I did!"

"But we're not at war anymore," Catra said firmly, "At least not with Hordak's Horde. The reason I tried to set up that game in the first place was to try to show that."

"Well, maybe I don't want the war to be over!" Mermista screamed, getting up from the couch to lean over Catra aggressively, "Maybe I want to give these people just a fraction of the hurt they've given me!"

Mrs. Arson recoiled in fear from her princess. Catra simply sighed and wrote one last note on their notepad before putting it away in their saddlebag. They then crossed their legs and fixed their hair.

"Mermista, sit your stupid butt back down, it's storytime," Catra said firmly, a small flash of anger shining in their eyes, "I'm not going to make any excuses for the many bad choices Catra has made in her life, but you really need to understand what kind of person she is, before you decide to do something really dumb. Oops! Too late!"

Catra mimed covering their mouth as if they just said something scandalous. Mermista continued glaring angrily at Catra as she silently sat back down.

"Do you remember what you told me about Hordak? About how war and anger are the only things he's ever known?" Catra asked, meeting Mermista's stare with a furious glance of their own, "What do you think growing up in a place like the Fright Zone does to a kid? What that kid has to do in order to survive in a place like that? Adora had Catra, and managed to make it as a top dog in her own right for Shadow Weaver and Hordak to treat her with some degree of respect. Adora was the only good thing Catra had in her life, until suddenly she didn't."

Mermista rolled her eyes and mimed yawning as she laid back on the couch.

"Now, picture a urchin from the streets of the Valley of the Lost," Catra continued, pushing through Mermista's ignorance, "I didn't have anyone either, and the Crimson Wastes certainly wasn't much of an easier place to grow up than the Fright Zone. I had one special gift and I had to use it constantly to survive. And it's not like there's alot of work in acting and therapy in a place like that. And we certainly didn't have any magical princesses to come and rescue us."

Mermista turned to give Catra another dirty look.

"So I did what I had to do," Catra shrugged, "I had to steal. I had to sell my body. I had to learn to read people very quickly and accurately, or else I was going to be found used, abused and bleeding to death in a gutter and no one in Etheria would have cared. ...And then I found Catra. And she gave me a part to play in an epic the greatest thespians in the universe would have killed to get a shot at. A story of love and loss and friendship and political intrigue, of heroes and villains more awesome and terrifying than the deadliest monsters in the wilderness. I didn't care that we were the 'bad guys' of the story. She gave me a chance because she believed in me. Because she was the *only* one who believed in me. That's who Catra is. She's the kind of person who doesn't care where a person comes from or whether or not they can fight or use magic or turn into Etheria's golden goddess. She finds value in the people no one else would take a second glance at. I wouldn't be here without her, so I can never, ever truly hate her the way you princesses do."

Mermista sighed and held her head down in shame.

"I'm sorry..." Mermista said softly, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just... we've lost so much because of you. No matter what I do, Salineas still hasn't recovered from Hordak's attack. The buildings are coming back, but the people... aren't. There are more former Horde soldiers working the docks than my actual subjects. Everyone else has just gone off to the Whispering Woods to join the resistance. In the end, even Seahawke left me."

"Oh, there, there, my dear," Mrs. Arson replied, tenderly patting Mermista's hand, "Seahawke told you he left to save our lands from the Horde. I'm sure wherever he is, he loves you very much."

"But, apparently, not enough to prevent him from treating me like an idiot!" Mermista growled, wrenching her hand away.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" gasped Mrs. Arson, holding her hand up to her mouth.

"Look, how about you just go and get the ship ready to leave," Mermista said, "I'll be there shortly."

"As you wish, your grace," Mrs. Arson said as she picked up her dress and left out the door.

"I'm sorry for being hard on you," Catra apologized, "But I really needed to hit you with the tough love if I was ever going to get through to you."

"I know," Mermista said, "Thank you."

"So..." Catra began nervously, "That was Seahawke, right?"

"Uggh..." Mermista groaned, "Yeah, that's him."

"So did he transition or are you both into drag play now or what?" Catra asked.

"It's just a stupid bit he's doing," Mermista explained, "He's supposed to be spying on me for the Resistance."

"Oh, so have you talked to him at all about this?" said Catra.

"I'm waiting for him to come clean to me about it," Mermista said, pulling out a small computer tablet from her pocket, "I don't think he's very good at this. Either that or he's trying to get caught on purpose. I mean, he literally sent this to me."

Mermista tapped on the tablet and handed it to Catra. The screen showed a video of Seahawke in his usual clothes wearing Mrs. Arson's wig with a mustache drawn on with marker.

"Greeting from your handsome hero, my love!" Seahawke cried out, before noticing the wig on his head and quickly throwing it offscreen, "Oh, whoops... I'm still working with Bow here in this... dark undersea cavern... which just happens to have the same coral design as your guest bathroom. You may have noticed I've trimmed my cheek tickler. Let me know what you think. In fact, don't be afraid to let me know *anything* you need at all. For you see... I may be closer than you think!"

Catra paused the video just as Seahawke gave a knowing wink to the camera.

"So this is him basically admitting what he's doing, right?" Catra guessed.

"No, no," Mermista ordered, "Keep going."

Catra tapped the play button as Seahawke was startled by a loud banging noise in the background.

"Come on out, already," Mermista said in the recording, "You've been in there for almost an hour."

"Oh, blast..." Seahawke cursed under his breath before switching back to his posh falsetto, "I mean, coming, Dearie! Just finishing up cleaning the sink! Oh, how do you turn this bloody thing off?!"

Seahawke tapped furiously on the camera as, with a cloth in his other hand, he wiped the marker off his face. He soon gave up and ran off stage right.

"Sorry, dearie," Mrs. Arson could be heard saying offscreen, "I just finished making it neat and tidy for you."

"Uggh," Mermista could be heard replying, "Whatever."

Mermista soon appeared onto the screen looking at the mess Seahawke left on the bathroom sink.

"And stay out of my makeup kit!" the Mermista in the tablet shouted to her left, before turning to look directly at the camera, "What in Etheria is this doing here?"

The video stopped by itself on a shot of Mermista's finger touching the camera.

"So, either way, he's a complete and total moron, right?" Mermista shrugged.

~*~

DT's Notes

Mermista, Session 4  
-Gee, I wonder what we could possibly talk about today.  
-So, Seahawke is back, and he shaved his mustache and is wearing drag. Will question this change later.  
-Mermista feels isolated from her friends since the incident, possibly because they have been avoiding her since the incident  
-So Seahawke is an enabler  
-I'm going to have to try to sell Mermista on Catra's good qualities, if only I could think of any.  
-Why is this so hard? Am I losing my touch? I know I liked Catra for *some* reason.  
-I'm going to have to do something drastic and quickly or else I'm going to lose Mermista for good. I'm probably going to lose her anyway, so here goes... something.  
-Well, things could have certainly gone worse, I guess.


	22. Glimmer, Session 4

"So, the good news is that Catra has agreed to let things go with Mermista in the interest of peace," Glimmer explained, "I can thank Adora mostly for that. Catra's going to tell everyone that it was just a stupid joke between friends that just went a bit too far."

"And the bad news?" asked Mermista halfheartedly, as they scribbled on their notepad.

"I did what you said and told Adora about what's been going on with Bow and the resistance," Glimmer said, "She wants to go into the woods and join the fight."

"Of course she does..." groaned Mermista, not even looking up as they continued drawing.

"I hate to say it, but it's almost a good thing Catra got hurt when she did," Glimmer said with a twinge of guilt, "If Adora wasn't so worried about having to take care of her, I would probably be stuck up in space right now, having to explain to Horde Prime what happened to her."

"Well, thank the She-Ra for small miracles," Mermista sighed, continuing their focus on the notepad.

"Are..." Glimmer said with concern, "Are you okay right now?"

"Hmm," Mermista mumbled, looking up from the notepad at Glimmer, "I'm really sorry. It's just since this whole incident, I've sort of taken a big hit to my self confidence right now."

"Did you want to talk about it?" offered Glimmer.

"That's okay. I'll deal with it," Mermista assured, returning to their notepad, "You're paying *me* to help *you* with your problems, remember?"

"I'm the Queen of Brightmoon," Glimmer stated smugly, "I can afford it. Besides, it's my duty as Queen to listen to her subjects' problems. isn't it?"

"That would be a first," Mermista snarked, continuing to avoid looking at Glimmer.

Glimmer slumped her shoulders and gave a shocked look at to her therapist.

"Wooow! Really?" scoffed Glimmer angrily, "You're gonna do me like that?! When I'm trying to be nice to you?! No, you're right. Maybe I should just fire you and look for someone else."

"Uggh, I'm really sorry," Mermista apologized, putting away their notepad to look at Glimmer, "I didn't mean that to be against you personally. That's just my general disdain for the whole princess monarchy slipping out. I could really use a friend right now, thank you."

"That's better," Glimmer said, suddenly very pleased with herself, "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"Alright..." Mermista said, taking a deep breath before they began, "Say there's this person who's been friendly with you. They are kind and helpful and when they talk to you, you just... *know* they are really interested in who you are as a person."

"You're talking about Bow," Glimmer guessed.

"Sure, let's say I'm talking about Bow," Mermista said, giving a half smile while shaking their head and holding up their hands in a 'Why not?' gesture, "And you realize that Bow is the perfect person you didn't realize you were looking for your whole life."

"Yeah, that's Bow alright..." Glimmer recollected, giggling a bit as she covered her mouth with her fists.

"And then you find out they're interested in someone else," Mermista said, "Romantically, I mean."

"Uh-huh," Glimmer said, flashing Mermista a knowing smile.

"You want so badly to tell Bow how you feel and to break them both up," Mermista said, "Except... you know in your heart the person they're interested in is really great, too. That they both deserve each other. Definitely more than you deserve the person in question."

"Oh! Oh! I know *exactly* what you're talking about!" Glimmer shouted excitedly, jumping up and down on the couch with glee, "This is about Perfuma!"

Mermista gave Glimmer a look of white hot rage.

"How could you *possibly* know that?!" Mermista roared furiously.

"Because this is exactly what happened to me during the Princess Prom this year," Glimmer said, standing up on the couch like a stage lecturer as her mouth ran a mile a minute, "You see, I wanted to take Bow as my plus one, but Perfuma already invited him and so I went to the Prom by myself except not by myself because Adora was there which got super weird because Catra showed up as Scorpia's plus one who I didn't even know was a princess before then but it was actually important because we were trying to recruit Princess Frosta into the Princess Alliance at the time, and she was super cold and angry at the time, probably because her parents probably died when she was like super young and she didn't have any friends, so Adora was trying to be nice and diplomatic to her, but came off as totally frustrated and condescending because Catra was there and I was super distracted the whole time because I was going through exactly what you just said between Bow and Perfuma, so I lost track of Scorpia and Bow while Adora got into a fight with Catra during our big dance and then a bunch of Frosta's guards who were replaced by Horde soldiers kidnapped me and Bow and also stole Adora's sword from the coat check up while Scorpia set the whole palace to explode which it didn't because Frosta used her ice powers to stop the palace from collapsing in on itself and also you were there too in that white fur coat and also Princess Flutterina was there too and oh, wait a minute, does that mean you and Flutterina were different people the whole time?"

Mermista leered back in wide eyed shock as they processed the cavalcade of information Glimmer dumped on them.

"Well, that's not... *exactly* what I'm going through right now," Mermista said, "But sure let's go with that. To answer your last question: Yeah, I did base my cover identity off of the real Flutterina I met at the prom. She was just too cute and annoying not to use. So, how did you deal with the whole Bow/Perfuma thing?"

"Oh, I wrote a letter to Bow and Perfuma expressing everything I felt, but never sent it," Glimmer said, pulling out a sheet of paper, "Here, let me read it to you. Ahem, 'Dear Perfuma, I hope you and Bow had a great time at the prom together. Just know that he is a perfect cinnamon roll who is too good and pure for this sinful world and that if you do anything to hurt him, the Kingdom of Brightmoon will make sure your punishment will be both painful and lasting. Love, Glimmer.' It made me feel a bit better. I don't know if they broke up over bad memories of the prom or something or if they never clicked to begin with and I was just overreacting, but whatever they had just seemed to fizzle out."

"That sounds a lot like my primary method of therapy," Mermista theorized, stroking their chin, "Except without any of my fabulous acting or cool shapeshifting. But for some reason... that letter sounds veeery familiar."

"It does?" Glimmer scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Huh? Fancy that! Because as it turns out, this *isn't* a letter I wrote up to not send to Perfuma. This is an anonymous threat Perfuma told me she got in the mail today."

Glimmer's smile quickly turned sour as she handed Mermista the letter with it's messy and hastily scribbled handwriting.

'Dear Plant Girl,' it read, 'I am to understand Scorpia has expressed a romantic interest in you. Know that I think the two of you would be perfect together and wish nothing but the best for you. But I want you to also know that Scorpia is a perfect cinnamon roll who is too good and pure for your sinful world and just got out of an abusive relationship. So, if I ever find out you've done anything to hurt her in any way, I will hunt you to the ends of Etheria to make sure your punishment is both painful and lasting. Kisses to the happy couple, A Friend.'

Glimmer gave Mermista a look of disappointment as they let the letter fall to the ground and sank back into their chair in shame.

"Now, if you ask me," Glimmer deduced, "This totally sounds like a letter from someone who used to be in the Horde with a close personal connection to Scorpia. That means it can't be Adora or Hordak because they barely know her. I know it's not Catra or Shadow Weaver because neither of them are self reflective enough to recognize an 'abusive relationship'. And I know for sure it's not Entrapta because I can actually read it. So who does that leave out, hmm?"

Mermista, who had barely reacted at all to Glimmer's inquisition, wearily returned her gaze, too exhausted to bother denying anything.

"Okay, so..." Mermista explained diplomatically, "I maaay have written this after getting a little drunk a few nights ago. I also appear to have developed something of an impulse control problem."

"Now, like I said, I *get* it, I really do," Glimmer assured Mermista, getting up off the couch to pick up the letter, "But *this*? We really don't need this creepy stalker garbage to deal with right now."

"I know and I'm sorry," Mermista told Glimmer, "I'll tell Perfuma I sent the letter and give her an apology."

"No, you are staying as far away from the two of them as possible," Glimmer ordered, sitting on the edge of the couch, "No more letters, no more warnings, and no more therapy sessions with Scorpia. I want want you to break it all off and leave them alone. That's an order from your Queen."

"Uggh," moaned Mermista, "Yeah, that's probably the smart thing to do. As you command, your Majesty."

"Excellent," Glimmer said, leaning forward to closely examine Mermista, "Now is there anything else you wanted to go over before we end our session?"

~*~

DT's Notes

Glimmer, Session 4

-*A small drawing of a stick figure with claws and a tail skipping happily with another stick figure in a dress with long hair across a field of flowers with a pointy eared stick goblin hiding in a cave in the background.*  
-Forever alone...


	23. Hordak, Session 4

"What happened to Horde Prime's Etherian Liaison was regrettable," Hordak stated, lying stiffly on the couch, his claws tented over his torso, "However, given Catra's history, I fail to see how this could have ended any other way."

"What do you mean by that?" Catra questioned, writing on their notepad.

"While under my command, Catra has proven herself to be a perfect microcosm of Shadow Weaver's failures," Hordak explained, "Lying, manipulative, willing to sacrifice everyone and everything at her disposal for her own petty agendas to the determent of the greater whole. Absolutely the worst kind of soldier for the Horde and a perfect example of everything I had hoped to eradicate from Etheria. It was only a matter of time before Catra would show herself incapable of shouldering the responsibilities Prime has given her."

"And yet, Horde Prime chose me to be his liaison to Etheria," Catra rebutted, scribbling a long note down, "Maybe you're just jealous."

"I must admit I did find my brother's decision to accept Catra into the Horde somewhat baffling at the time, especially given his access to my memories regarding her history," Hordak replied, "However, after realizing the depths of my failures in Prime's eyes, I've come to understand that my recollections of the events would not be the most compelling evidence against her. It is of no importance. Catra will prove herself unworthy of his trust soon enough and then she will suffer the consequences for her incompetence. My only regret is that I probably won't be the one who finally kills her."

"That is a very antagonistic position to take on someone who personally intervened on your behalf," Catra scolded, wincing as they wrote down another note, "Who requested Prime halt your reconditioning, again?"

"I would hardly consider that doing me a favor," Hordak retorted, "It was only logical that I be selected to work on the Heart of Etheria project. The only one with more experience in working with First Ones technology than me is Princess Entrapta. And there was no guarantee she would work for the Horde again after the things Catra did to her."

"Oh, please," scoffed Catra, continuing to write on their notepad, "I was the whole reason Entrapta joined the Horde in the first place."

"Entrapta was nothing more than a means to an end to worm her way into my good graces," answered Hordak, "She had been riding on Entrapta's successes to maintain her position, using Entrapta's sympathy to defend her failures. But the moment Entrapta became inconvenient to her own rise to power, Catra got rid of her and lied to cover it up. Make no mistake, Catra *will* die for what she has done."

"Okaaay," Catra said, transforming back into Double Trouble, "Maybe we should try this from a different angle. What do you think Catra's death would accomplish?"

"Well, it will provide *me* with great satisfaction for one thing," Hordak chuckled, "It will also protect those she would bring to harm to satisfy her own selfish desires."

"But isn't fantasizing about killing her a selfish desire on your part?" inquired Double Trouble, writing down another note, "Isn't all of this hatred just perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence and revenge?"

"The difference is that I am not going to act on those fantasies unless commanded otherwise," Hordak said, "I will instead simply trust my brother's wisdom to see Catra's true nature for himself. Already, I am certain that recent events have cast doubt on Catra's ability to keep the Princesses in line."

"But don't you think that focusing on something so negative, that you can't actually do anything about, is just a little bit harmful to your mental health?" asked Double Trouble, "What if things don't go the way you expect and Catra doesn't screw up bad enough to warrant a public execution?"

The mere suggestion from his therapist elicited an amused reaction from Hordak.

"Mmmhmmhmmhmmhmmhmmheheheheha..." laughed Hordak, "I am sorry, but we all know how this is going to end. Catra will suspect a princess of scheming against her, or will assume one of my brothers is not showing the proper respect to her fragile ego, or will crave something trivial simply because she does not have it. And then she will do what she always does, some foolhardy plot or scheme to satisfy her own vapid goals that will end up costing the Horde far more than what Horde Prime considers to be her value as his servant. And then she will finally know the price of her betrayal."

"Well, maybe I just have a little more faith in her than you do," Double Trouble said, writing down another note.

"You are free to believe what you will," Hordak stated, "But in my experience, Catra lacks the humility and self awareness to ever learn from her mistakes and as such will always be doomed to repeat them. It is inevitable."

"Oh, of course," Double Trouble snarked, transforming back into Catra, "Because we all know you were nothing but the absolute paragon of humility, oh, Great Lord of the Fright Zone."

"Grr..." Hordak growled at Catra, but said nothing as he turned his head away and flexed his right claw into a fist.

"I mean, sure," Catra said, getting up from their chair to walk over to Hordak's couch, "I'm the one who sent Entrapta away to Beast Island. But what did you do about it? You didn't even check on what happened to her. It's not like there wasn't paperwork for every single prisoner transfer out of the Fright Zone. It took Double Trouble all of, like, two seconds to look it up, once they figured out what was going on. But you didn't even care."

"That's not true!" Hordak roared in defiance, glaring at the catgirl hovering over him, "Entrapta was the Horde's most valuable asset! When Catra betrayed her, she betrayed the Horde!"

"Oh, please," Catra scoffed, getting up in Hordak's face, "You couldn't wait to abandon her. You didn't even think twice when I told you what happened. All I did was exactly everything you taught me to survive. Shadow Weaver wasn't the one in charge of the Fright Zone. You were. Shadow Weaver didn't approve of my plans to get revenge against Adora. You did. Shadow Weaver didn't make me your second in command. You did. Shadow Weaver raised me, but you? You're the one who made me. Everything I did is just as much your mistake as it was mine!"

"Enough of this," Hordak grumbled, getting up to leave, "This session is over."

"That's right, just get up and walk away like the loser you are," Catra shouted, following Hordak as he walked to the doorway, "What's the matter? Scared that you might be wrong? That Horde Prime actually likes me more than he ever did you? That thanks to your sterling example, I actually *am* the perfect little Horde soldier? Lying to the Scorpions, Manipulating them into giving you their kingdom, Willing to do whatever it takes to sur-ack!"

Catra lost their voice as Hordak's metal gauntlet clamped around their throat like a vice and lifted them up off their feet. Hordak didn't say a word as he seethed in rage at the catgirl writhing and wriggling in his crushing grasp.

"Ha-Cack!" Catra gagged, their long lizard like tongue flopping out their mouth as their monochromatic eyes rolled up above their eyelids, "Harder... daddy..."

Hordak immediately released his grip and recoiled in disgust, dropping Catra on the floor. Catra got up on all fours, carressing their throat and gasping desperately for air as their form shifted back into Double Trouble.

"I'm..." Hordak stuttered, stepping away in shock, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Are you alright?"

"It's okay," wheezed Double Trouble, crawling up onto their chair, "I mean, it's not, actually. But I now hope you understand exactly what it is we're trying to fix. I think that's enough for today."

"Of course," Hordak complied, "I will understand if you would prefer I not return for another session."

"Oh, absolutely not!" Double Trouble retorted, sitting down and folding their legs comfortably, "Not when we're finally making progress. It's not like it's the first time a client gave me the rough treatment. What's a little strangleplay between friends?"

"As you... wish," Hordak said nervously, "I, however, would prefer you never say those words in that order in my presence ever again. In fact, I would greatly appreciate it if you try to forgot everything you just experienced, said and did."

"Whatever you say, big boy," Double Trouble snickered, playfully stroking their neck.

Hordak growled in frustration at his therapist and then sighed in defeat before he turned away and left.

~*~

DT's Notes

Hordak, Session 4  
-Time to start peeling that onion of deflection to get to the heart of Hordak's self loathing  
-We'll start with the most recent subject of his ire and work backward hopefully  
-Victim blames Catra for her own injury, classy  
-Appears to hate Catra for exhibiting his own worst traits, Possible resentment over Prime's apparent acceptance of her  
-Murder fantasies, this just got really dark  
-Entrapta's banishment is a major subject of Hordak's resentment, again possibly redirecting the target of his hate to avoid blaming himself  
-Yeah, I gonna need to get him off of this whole killing Catra thing as soon as possible  
-Alright, time to do something stupid and reckless that might get me killed for someone who really doesn't need or deserve me defending her.  
-Progress was minimal today, but I'm hopeful that some of the things I've been saying are penetrating that thick skull of his  
-At the very least, I made absolutely sure he won't strangle her to death.  
-Note to self: Looks like we'll have to add sudden suicidal urges to the growing list of my personal issues that need addressing


	24. 4th Interlude, A Nighttime Intrusion

"I mean, ever since Adora gave me the ability to speak," Swiftwind explained as he flew over the Whispering Woods with Bow on his back, "I just haven't felt the same connection I used to have with the other horses. It's almost as if they're all like children to me now. It's kinda creepy to be honest."

"Uh-huh," groaned Bow, his eyes half open as he imagined himself being anywhere but here.

"And it's not like interspecies romance is some unheard of thing in Etheria," Swiftwind continued, "Look at Kyle and that big lizard guy. They seem to be getting along great ever since they joined our little resistance group and no one bats an eye at them."

"I guess," Bow mumbled, only half listening.

"Thanks for letting me talk while we fly. You're a great listener by the way," Swiftwind complimented, "But anyways, would it really be so bad if I went out with someone else just because I have four legs and they have two? I think it would be much worse if I *did* go out with another horse. It would be like a grown up human dating a baby human, or an ape, right?"

"Sure, why not?" Bow said, his higher brain functions completely ignoring the flying unicorn he was riding on.

"So, back to the reason I started talking about this in the first place," Swiftwind concluded, "Do you think that guy who makes the fizzy drinks is seeing anyone?"

"I don't know," Bow answered, before his eyes shot open at the view in front of them, "Wait! There it is! Go down here!"

"Roger!" Swiftwind saluted with his forehoof as he descended below the forest canopy, "Entering super secret stealth mode!"

"Shh!" hushed Bow as Swiftwind gracefully landed on the ground, "We're going to go the rest of the way on foot."

"I'm right behind you," Swiftwind whispered, as Bow got off his back, "So what's the plan? Sneak into Brightmoon, kidnap Catra and spritz her with water until she tells us where the Horde is holding Adora?"

"I'm going to play it by ear," Bow said, gracefully squeezing past the foliage in his way, "We still don't have the full picture of what's going on with the princesses. Are you sure you don't want to use your connection with Adora to link with her mind again?"

"Please don't ask me to do that," Swiftwind said, his head lowered as he followed Bow, "I can only do it when Adora is in a state of extreme emotional turmoil and it was horrible the last time I tried. It was so dark, all I could see was Catra's scary mismatched eyes as I heard Adora grunting and screaming and calling out Catra's name, like she was begging her to stop hurting her. My best guess is Catra wasn't even interrogating her, just torturing her for the fun of it. I've never seen anything so sadistic."

"Yeah, I get the picture," Bow said with a shudder as he pushed out of the forest into a small clearing in front of the castle walls, "That's why we need to do this. I'm going to sneak in through Adora's old room and look for clues. Keep watch out here."

"I'm not coming with you?" Swiftwind questioned, poking his head out of the brush.

"You're not exactly the most inconspicuous person here, Swiftwind," Bow explained, firing a rope arrow onto the balcony, "I'll call you on the radio if I get into trouble."

"Is this still about the whole Queen Angela thing?" Swiftwind asked, his expression turning to one of annoyance, "Look! All I said was that if Brightmoon didn't provide a peaceful way to emancipate my fellow horses from slavery, it would make a violent revolution inevitable and that *never* ends well for the royalty."

"It's not about the guillotine thing!" Bow hissed angrily at Swiftwind, "Just stay out here until I call for you. I'll check in every few minutes, okay?"

"Fine," scoffed Swiftwind, as Bow began climbing the castle walls, "But we really need to talk about what's going to happen with the exploitation of our labor after we kick the Horde off our planet."

~*~

Catra's eyes glazed over the reports from the Crystal Castle she was reading. Entrapta was hard enough to understand in person, but her chicken scratches were completely indecipherable. Catra eventually gave up and decided to wait for Adora come back to help her understand the gobbledy-gook. She unceremoniously threw the papers beside her on the bedside table and pulled the covers over her pajamas.

Catra hated this bed. She hated how soft it was. Adora said she got her the hardest bed in Brightmoon, but it was still too soft for her. It was uncomfortable enough when she first got here, but now she had to deal with the annoying sounds of the forest outside coming in one ear contrasted against the painful silence in the other. Except it wasn't silent in her head.

"Of course, you don't like the bed," Catra could hear Shadow Weaver whisper in her left ear, "You don't deserve it. You don't deserve any of this. You may have fooled Adora and her friends for now, but no one stays fooled for long. You can't fool me. You can never fool yourself. And you certainly didn't fool Mermista."

Catra groaned as she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the imaginary echo in her head. She focused on the sound of running water coming from the bathroom sink and Adora brushing her teeth.

"She'll never truly trust you, you know," Shadow Weaver continued, "How can she if she doesn't respect you? You'll never be as good as her. You're just her vanity project. Her pet. Her plaything. Try as you might to decieve yourself, you'll always be nothing more than that disgusting mangy beast I found in the trash."

"AAAGH!" Catra screamed in pain as she felt something poke the bandage covering her left ear.

Catra instinctively reached to brush away the offending object, only to find her fingers wrap around a sharp arrow pointed directly at her head.

"Where's Adora?" Catra heard a young masculine voice say.

Catra's body froze as her eyes looked to her left to see a familiar brown haired boy with exposed abs scowling in anger at her.

"Bathroom..." was all Catra managed to get out of her throat.

"You can go to the Bathroom, after you answer my question," Bow said sternly, "Where are you holding Adora?"

"She's in the Bathroom, Idiot!" Catra snarled, her frustration briefly overcoming her fear.

"Don't play games with me, Catra," Bow ordered, "One more time and then I shoot you. Where. Is. Adora?"

Catra said nothing. She closed her eyes again and took in a deep breath. A small tear fell from her eye as she prepared for the inevitable.

"Yeees," Shadow Weaver cooed slyly, "*This* is what you deserve."

"Bow!" Catra heard from across the room, "What are you doing here?!"

Catra opened her eyes and looked to see Adora in her pajamas holding a toothbrush.

"What am *I* doing here?!" Bow repeated, "What are *you* doing here?!"

"I live here!" Adora answered, "Put down the arrow. No one is going to hurt you. Right, Catra?"

"Y-yeah, sure," Catra stammered, nodding shakily.

"I know what this is," Bow said, pointing his arrow at Adora, "You're that shapeshifter! Where is the real Adora?!"

"Bow, it's me!" Adora said, dropping the toothbrush and holding her hands up in surrender.

"Prove it," Bow ordered, "Tell me something only Adora would know."

"You're not like this, Bow," Adora said, "You're a really nice guy and my best friend. You were scared your parents would reject you if they found out you were fighting in the Princess Alliance. During the rebellion, you were the one who was always working the hardest in keeping us all together. I've never known you to be anything less than sweet and charming to everyone you meet."

"All of that is stuff Double Trouble could have found out when they were Flutterina," Bow replied, keeping his arrow trained on Adora, "Tell me something only Adora would know."

Adora bit her lip and looked up to the ceiling as she let out muffled scream.

"Whispering Woods," Adora stated, "On our way to Mara's ship, after Glimmer ordered us not to rescue Entrapta, but we went anyway. You felt guilty about not leaving enough notes for her and that's when I-"

"Stop!" interrupted Bow as relaxed his arrow and dropped it on the ground, "You're Adora. What are you doing here with Catra?"

"I've been taking care of her after she got hurt," Adora explained, walking over to Catra to check up on her, "We've been taking therapy together."

"But Swiftwind said Catra was torturing you. He said he could hear you grunting and screaming Cat... ra's... name..." Bow realized, before covering his eyes and screaming into his arm, "AHHH! Kyle was right! How could I be so stupid?! Gaaah!"

"Bow, you can't be seen here," Adora said, walking up to Bow to put both hands on his shoulders, "You have to get out of here."

"Right, yeah," Bow said, wandering over to the balcony in shock, "It's just... Is Glimmer here? I need to make sure she's okay, too."

"Alright, but after that, you have to leave," Adora ordered, giving Bow a goodbye hug.

"Okay, Adora," Bow said, returning the hug, "Good luck with... therapy. I really hope you guys know what you're doing."

"Me, too," Adora said, breaking the hug, "And tell Swiftwind to stay out of my brain from now on!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Bow said, firing a rope arrow higher up the castle, "Goodbye, Adora."

As Bow began climbing up the castle walls again, Adora ran back to her bed to hug Catra and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so sorry about that," Adora apologized, holding Catra as tight as she could, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Catra scoffed, playfully stroking Adora's hair, "You're acting like I've never had my life threatened before."

"I'm serious," Adora scolded, "You're shaking."

"It's... just..." Catra said, "No one's ever been able to sneak up on me like that before. Not before... the whole ear thing."

"It's alright," Adora interrupted, picking up the arrow, "I'm sure Bow wasn't really going to hurt you with this."

Adora tapped a button on the arrow and a stream of water squirted out of it into Catra's face.

"Ah!" Catra hissed, wiping of her face, "Get that thing away from me!"

"Sorry," Adora said, quickly shoving the arrow into a drawer in the bedside table.

"I guess you want me to let him off the hook, too," Catra guessed.

"I know it's alot to ask after everything that's happened," Adora said, "But Bow was just worried about me. It probably never even crossed his mind that we would be..."

Adora stopped herself and got up from the bed and began pacing.

"This is all my fault," Adora realized, her eyes wide in fear as she turned away from Catra, "We did all of this too fast. I shouldn't have put you in this position. I was being selfish."

"What are you talking about?" Catra asked, "We did *what* too fast? Are you breaking up with me?"

"Sweet Etheria, no!" Adora shouted, sitting down on a cushion on the far wall, "At least... I really don't want to."

"Then what's the problem?" Catra queried.

"The problem is we need to have a serious talk about what all *this* actually is," Adora answered, thinking for a second before continuing, "Why did you ask to go out with me after our first session with Double Trouble?"

"I don't know," Catra replied, "It was just something I wanted to do. I didn't actually expect you to say yes, to be honest. But then again, I didn't expect you to kiss me when we were leaving. Why *did* you kiss me?"

"Because you were finally getting better," Adora answered, "I was so happy to see you finally getting the help you needed and I wanted to encourage that any way I could."

"Adora..." Catra whimpered, "I wanted to go out with you because I like being with you. And I wanted to know if after everything we did, if you still liked me too. We didn't have to fight anymore, so why not get together? What are you so afraid of? I've lost count of all the times you or I almost died, most of the time from us trying to kill each other. But now that you're back, I don't want to waste another second apart from you. We've already lost too much time with this stupid war."

"Catra... I..." Adora stammered, taking a moment to compose herself as she got up from the couch and walked over to the bed, "I need you to keep something a secret for me."

"What are you talking about?" Catra said, nervously reeling back from Adora.

"I'm serious," Adora said, grabbing Catra by the shoulders, "You can't tell anyone. Not the other princesses, not the Horde, and definitely not Horde Prime. Can I trust you?"

Catra gave Adora a nervous look but said nothing. Adora sat down next to Catra and placed her left hand on her furry cheek.

"Catra..." Adora begged, stroking her underneath her right ear, "Please..."

"Okay, Adora," Catra answered, placing her own hand on Adora's, "You can trust me."

"Good," Adora said, smiling in relief, "Hold still."

Adora tilted her head has she slowly drew towards Catra to plant her lips over top of hers. Catra moaned in pleasure into Adora's mouth as she wrapped her arms around Adora's waist, pulling her close, but then choked in pain as she felt Adora's hand firmly grab her sensitive left ear. Catra could see a blue light in her periferal vision that glowed so brightly that it was almost blinding. She closed her eyes and held Adora as tightly as she could while she winced against the pain. At first, it was unbearable, but soon she felt it slowly melt away as Adora tore apart her bandage. Adora broke the kiss and licked Catra's cheek as she moved her mouth close to the injury.

"I keep forgetting how rough your tongue is," Catra could hear whispered into her ear.

"I can hear!" Catra exclaimed, grabbing Adora's shirt with both hands, "Adora, how did you do that?"

"Shh!" hushed Adora harshly, putting her hand between Catra's arms to put a finger over her mouth, "This is the part where you keep my secret, okay?"

"Right..." Catra said, her ears dropping in shame as she let go, "Sorry..."

"As it turns out, I never needed the sword to use my powers," Adora whispered, "The sword was just a conduit, something to help me focus She-Ra's energy, and then eventually become a means to take control of me. That's why Entrapta's virus made me so loopy. That's how Light Hope activated the Heart of Eternia the first time. And that's why I had to destroy it."

"But this means..." Catra realized, sliding her feet out of bed to sit next to her partner, "Adora, all we need to activate the Heart of Etheria is you. You're the key to all of this."

"And that's why no one must know about this," Adora hissed, "Not Hordak, not Shadow Weaver, not even Glimmer. I am never letting them use me like that again, got it?"

"Alright, Adora, calm down," said Catra, letting out a little giggle, "I'm not going to tell anyone. She-Ra gets to be our little secret."

"You know, when you smile like that," Adora said, "It makes me think you *are* going to tell someone."

"Too late!" Catra laughed, wrapping her arm around Adora's shoulder to cuddle up to her, "You've already told me. You have to trust me now."

"And I already regret it..." Adora groaned, leaning away from Catra's pawing, "Can we go back to trying to kill each other, please?"

"Oh, shut up, Adora," Catra scolded as her fangs began nipping at Adora's neck, "I know you still love it when I do this."

"Look, Catra," Adora said, pushing her away, "It's been a long day. Let me finish getting ready for bed and we can fool around all night if you want."

"Mmm..." purred Catra, drawing away from Adora but holding onto her hand, "You promise..?"

"Yeah, I promise," Adora said, getting up to pick up her toothbrush and head back to the bathroom, only for the bathroom door to open on it's own.

"I told you, don't touch me there!" scolded a frustrated queen in her underwear exiting the bathroom, "You know it makes me lose control of my powers."

"I'm sorry, I forgot," answered the now topless young archer following her.

"Glimmer?" Adora called out to her two friends leaving their bathroom.

"Eep!" shouted Glimmer who quickly wrapped her arms around Bow before the two of them disappeared into a cloud of sparkles.

"Looks like we're not the only ones having fun tonight," Catra commented, "I notice peacetime in Brightmoon has done wonders for our queen's royal visage."

Catra inhaled and puffed out her cheeks and gut, cradling her round, furry belly full of air in her arms. Adora gave her a dirty glare as she folded her arms and tapped her foot in annoyance.

"You know Catra..." Adora grumbled, "I would have thought this week would have taught you something about knowing when to keep your comments to yourself."

"I'm sowwy, Adowa," Catra cooed, pulling the covers over her nose, "I've been a bad kitty, haven't I?"

"Uggh," groaned Adora, throwing her toothbrush in the garbage, "First ones save me... the things I am going to do to you."

Adora charged at the bed and jumped on top of Catra. The two lovers wrestled in the fluffy mattress until Adora grabbed Catra's wrists and pinned them over her head. Catra wrapped her legs around Adora's waist.

"Oh, wow," Catra exclaimed, her expression turning serious as she examined the woman on top of her, "I really don't deserve you."

"Then make it up to me," Adora ordered.

Adora reached over to blow out the candle on the bedside table. The entire room was bathed in darkness, the only light coming from the stars outside.

"Hey, Adora," said a mismatched pair of gold and blue cat eyes in the darkness.

"Hey, Catra," answered two bright blue human ones.


	25. Scorpia, Final Session

"So before we begin," Double Trouble told Scorpia, "I want you to be aware that this will be our last session."

"Okay," Scorpia said, "Are you taking a vacation or something?"

"No, Scorpia, this is it," Double Trouble explained, their voice cracking a bit, "After today, I will no longer be your therapist."

"Oh..." Scorpia said with a twinge of disappointment, "You think I don't need to do this anymore. I guess this had to end sometime."

Double Trouble sighed and rubbed their temple as they wrote down a note on their notepad.

"Circumstances... have... developed," Double Trouble said, "And I am no longer able to remain objective in my care for you."

"Oh, no," Scorpia said, "Did something bad happen? Did I do something wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, Scorpia, it's not anything anyone did to me," Double Trouble reassured, quickly scribbling something down, "I... I've become emotionally compromised towards one of my clients."

"Emotionally compromised?" Scorpia repeated, "What does that mean?"

"It means that my feelings for my client are interfering with my ability to provide a proper environment for therapy," Double Trouble explained.

"But... that's terrible," Scorpia whined, wiping a tear from her eye, "I remember you telling me how much you loved being a therapist. I don't see why you have to quit the whole thing just because you caught feelings for someone."

"Oh, no, don't worry!" Double Trouble quickly shouted, holding out her hand to try to reassure Scorpia, "I'm still going to be a therapist, I'm... just not going to be *your* therapist."

"Wait, what?" Scorpia said, giving Double Trouble a side eyed look of confusion, "What do I have to do with any of this?"

"Uggh," Double Trouble groaned, covering their face in embarrassment, "Okay, remember our last session when you told me you had a crush on someone before you told me who it actually was?"

"Yeah..?" Scorpia said, raising her eyebrow at Double Trouble.

"While you were telling me about the person in question," Double Trouble recollected, shifting nervously in their chair, "I kinda... got it into my head that you were talking about me."

"Oh..." Scorpia said, thinking for a moment before a flash of realization hit her face, "Oooh! Really? I mean, I know really get along, but I never really thought of you in... that way."

"I mean, I didn't either at first, to be honest," Double Trouble admitted, putting both hands on the seat of their chair, "But I thought you were trying to gauge how I felt about you before admitting anything, so I wanted to really dig deep into how I actually felt about you before I could answer honestly, and I was surprised about what I found."

"So when you were telling me how great I was and how anyone would be lucky to have me as a girlfriend," Scorpia said, looking down at her boots, "What you were actually saying was-"

"Yeah," interrupted Double Trouble, biting both lips and focusing on their notepad as they continued writing, "I'm really sorry. I really didn't want our last session together to just be me dumping all my issues on you. I think Perfuma is a great for you and really hope the two of you are happy together. I really care about you Scorpia, and I want you to be happy. But that's why I can longer be trusted to give you good advice."

"Okay..." Scorpia said, lying back down on the couch and staring at the ceiling, "That is... a lot to take in. To be honest, I'm still having trouble believing everything you said to me last session. You said that people would be crazy not to like me, but that hasn't really been the case in my life. Everyone avoided me when I was with the Horde, I couldn't get Catra to look at me twice, and the Princesses attacked me on sight when I tried to ask them for help. After everything I did for the Horde, I don't really blame them. I mean, there *was* that one Inspector Sailor guy who made a pass at me once during the princess prom, and then again during inspection in the Fright Zone, which I thought was really inappropriate at the time but didn't want to say anything. But I'm pretty sure he was just trying to make his mermaid girlfriend jealous."

"Oh, trust me," Double Trouble scoffed, casually flapping their hand at Scorpia, "You do *not* want to know what's going on in that relationship right now. But enough speculation, how are things going between you and Perfuma? I assume you two are getting along great."

"That's just it," Scorpia said, "Perfuma isn't actually interested in girls. Turns out, she's straight, just really friendly."

"Wait, what?" Double Trouble said, reeling back in their chair in surprise, "But Adora told me she kissed her."

"Oh, yeah," Scorpia explained, "She kissed me too whenever I came over, apparently it's just the standard Plumerian greeting for visiting dignitaries. But she really didn't want to hurt my feelings and she said she still wanted to be friends. I probably should have figured this out myself, since the Bow guy was her plus one at the princess prom."

"Well, that's boring," Double Trouble grumbled, stroking their chin as they wrote down another note, "So, are you doing okay? How are you feeling?"

"I'm... going to be okay... I think," Scorpia said with uncertainty, "Like I said, she really wanted to make sure she didn't hurt my feelings."

"Okay, that's good to hear," Double Trouble said, crossing their legs and looking uncomfortable as they wrote down another note, "So, is there anything else you wanted to talk about today? This is going to be our last chance to finish up on any questions and concerns you might have had."

"Well, is it, though?" Scorpia asked, "I mean, just because you can't see me professionally doesn't mean we can't still hang out, right?"

"What are you asking, Scorpia?" Double Trouble queried, fidgeting nervously while writing down on their notepad.

"What I'm saying is, did you want to... try... doing something... together?" Scorpia asked, shrugging her shoulders, "See if it works out?"

Double Trouble paused for a moment, a small smile curling on their lip as they looked into Scorpia's eyes.

"I think I would like that very much, Scorpia," Double Trouble replied warmly, before their eyes opened wide in shock and they began scribbling frantically on their notepad.

"Great!" Scorpia shouted with excitement, ignoring her therapist's change in demeanor, "I was hoping to find a plus one for Frosta's birthday!"

"B-birthday?" Double Trouble repeated, trying to regain their composure, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, Frosta has invited most of the Princesses back to the Kingdom of the Snows to celebrate her birthday," Scorpia explained, "From what I can tell, it's sort of a more casual do-over of the Princess Prom since I kinda ruined it for her last time. I didn't really know who to ask to go with me, since Perfuma's already invited and I'm pretty sure Catra is going with Adora this time."

"So the other princesses will be there?" Double Trouble asked, "Including Glimmer and Perfuma."

"Well, yeah," Scorpia answered, "Why? Is that going to be a problem?"

"Oh, no reason," Double Trouble lied, writing down another note, "It sounds like a perfectly lovely evening that will most certainly end well for everyone involved."

"Great," Scorpia said, getting up to leave, "So, I guess I'll see you then?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Double Trouble promised, standing up with her to shake her claw.

"Okay," Scorpia said, opening the door and waving goodbye, "Good luck with the whole therapy business."

"Thanks," Double Trouble waved back, before collapsing into a heap on the couch as the door closed behind Scorpia, "Oh, sweet Eternia, what in She-Ra's name am I doing?"

~*~

DT's Notes

Scorpia, Final Session  
-Alright, let's get this over with. No need to get emotional, you're just telling a person you've fallen in love with that you can never see them again because you're a hopeless screw up.  
-Come on, DT you can do this. You don't have to lie to her. You just don't have to tell her everything.  
-Oh, no. She thinks it's her fault. This is bad.  
-This is exactly how I didn't want things to go.  
-We have found the, what, fourth straight person in the universe  
-Oh, no. I hope Perfuma is actually straight. Otherwise, I am, without a doubt, the worst person in all of Etheria.  
-Okay, DT, if Scorpia's trying to ask you out, you say no. You are not taking advantage of this poor girl while she is on the rebound.  
-WHAT DID I JUST SAY, YOU IDIOT?!  
-This is going to be a complete disaster. I have screwed everything up.  
-Whatever happens I am a terrible person... Maybe not as bad as Shadow Weaver but that is not a high bar...


	26. Shadow Weaver, Session 2

"So, what can I do for you today, performer?" Shadow Weaver greeted as she casually spread herself out on the couch in Double Trouble's office, "You seem stressed. Perhaps you have need of one of my concoctions to soothe your soul? Earl Grey? No, I think Vanilla Rooibos would be more to your taste."

With a wave of her hand, Shadow Weaver drew pitch black spectres from the dark corners of the room onto the table between them, which materialized into a immaculate porcelain teacup and saucer.

"I am perfectly fine, Shadow Weaver," explained Adora, holding out their hand to politely decline, "I'm here to help you, remember?"

"Well, thank you, my dear," Shadow Weaver replied, picking up the saucer to sip at the tea herself, "But I do not require your help. I am only here under orders of our gracious queen in the hopes that I might prove worthy of her trust."

"Do you believe you are worthy of that trust?" Adora asked, writing something down on their notepad.

"I live to serve," declared Shadow Weaver, placing her hand over her chest in a false bow, "It is my fatal flaw."

"In that case, maybe it would help if we talked about your time in the service of the Sorcerer's Guild of Mysticore," suggested Adora, "Back when you were known as Light Spinner."

"Not much to say, I'm afraid," Shadow Weaver stated briskly, "My time in Mysticore was consistently miserable."

"By all means, Mysticore was a place you spent a long period of your life," Adora argued, taking out a picture from her bag and handing it to the sorceress, "Are you sure you don't have more you want to go over from that period?"

Shadow Weaver sighed as she looked at the photograph. Two familiar piercing green eyes stared back, a pale dark face covered a bright red veil, surrounded by luxurious black hair. The woman that would become Shadow Weaver was in the center of a diverse group of wizards, mages and enchanters that surrounded her, holding a large rock covered in runes, which in the Etherian tongue read, 'We demand to be taken seriously!' It took Shadow Weaver less then a second to grow bored and casually toss the framed picture into the wall behind her, smashing against it with a hard clink.

"An academy of dottering old men and their mewling sycophants," Shadow Weaver commented, "A failed institution corrupted by nepotism and cowardice."

"And yet, you chose to learn and teach there," observed Adora, writing another note down, "Why is that?"

"Chose..." Shadow Weaver repeated, chuckling to herself, "As if there was anywhere else for me to go. Magic was a talent held by only a very select few and the Guild guarded their secrets very closely, only accepting the most promising of Etherians. By which, of course, I mean only those wealthy and politically connected enough to afford it."

"And you've made it very clear what a hard life you've lived every time I talk to you," asked Adora, "How did you end up joining them?"

"I showcased my talents to Master Norwyn personally," boasted Shadow Weaver, casting a small shadow creature in the palm of her hand before crushing it into her fist, "...among other... indignities I was forced to suffer in his service. I must admit, I considered it something of a personal triumph when I killed him."

Adora cocked an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Shadow Weaver admonished the therapist, "You, of all people, must know what it takes to get ahead in this world. I did not have blood relations to a princess or a noble family to take me in. I had to struggle for every last scrap of respect I rightfully earned. Do you think I would have been known as Mysticore's most powerful sorcerer if I didn't have the talent to support my ambitions? But talent alone is not enough to get by in Etheria."

"I'm only here to help you," Adora stated matter of factly as they wrote down another note, "It's not my place to judge."

"I would hope not," Shadow Weaver threatened, the white eyes of her mask narrowing at Adora, "There is a saying amongst Etherians. A woman must work twice as hard to get half as much. A simplistic notion. The truth is much more disappointing, I'm afraid. We must work much harder to get far less."

"But you weren't the only woman in Mysticore," Adora corrected, continuing to write on their notepad, "I thought there were, like, a ton of sorceresses. I believe the guildmaster is now Master Castaspella, is she not?"

"A pitiable excuse of a magician if I ever saw one," Shadow Weaver criticized, "A pathetic talentless hack riding off the coattails of her brother and inlaws who I wouldn't trust to perform for a child's birthday party. Because the heaven's forbid, a woman make it on her own merits and not on her relation to another man. Every Queen needs a King, after all. Don't you think there is a reason the Horde never considered her Mysticore to be a true threat? Or why our beloved Queen chose to come to me and not her own aunt to teach her magic?"

"I think Mysticore's aversion to your so-called 'Dark Arts' might have had something to do with it," Adora noted, scribbling a quick note down.

"'Dark Arts'..." Shadow Weaver repeated derisively, "It is just another way the guild claimed power through their adaptive vocabulary. I make plans to protect Etherians and they call me Manipulative, Norwyn schemes to secure his own worthless position and they call him Calculating. I take great personal risks to improve my abilities and I am seen as Covetous, Micah seizes whatever power he can from the princesses to become King and they call him Ambitious. I so much as raise my voice and I am called Shrill, Hordak roars angrily at his officers like a spoiled child and is seen as Commanding. No wonder Mysticore made Castaspella their Guildmaster, she's far too weak to be ever considered a threat to the other wizards' precious egos. She's their perfect little mouthpiece."

"So what made you finally leave to join the Horde?" asked Adora.

"I had originally planned to destroy the Horde," Shadow Weaver corrected, "True, I had my misgivings towards Etheria as a whole and the Guild in particular. But at the time, there was little good to be seen from the invading conquerors that sought to seize our world. And back then, I still had some fleeting hope. My faithful student Micah appeared to see the world for what it truly was. And so I invited him to join me in plotting a way to stop the Horde in their tracks. Unfortunately, he lacked the courage necessary to completely overcome the guild's programming. A regrettable mistake on my part. At the last second, he betrayed me."

"How did he betray you?" queried Adora.

"Micah and I worked to modify a spell of obtainment to summon a shadow from the netherworld that would allow us to consume magical energy from the Horde. During the ritual, the creature broke free and attacked us. Micah did not even hesitate to abandon me to it. Understandable for such a young naive creature, to be fair. I do truly harbor no ill will toward him, apart my great disappointment in him. But it was then I realized that nothing in Etheria was worth saving from the Horde. So went to the Fright Zone to grovel Hordak. He saw my value to the Horde immediately. The Horde did not have any magic users to call their own, so they tasked me with studying Horror Hall's runestone, the Black Garnet. Rather fortunate on my part seeing as the runestone was the only way to satiate my never ending hunger for magical energy. The botched ritual had left a dark pit in my soul, never to be filled."

"You seem to be doing fine without it right now," Adora observed as they continued writing.

Shadow Weaver glared silently at Adora through her mask before taking another sip of tea.

"When Catra severed my connection to the Black Garnet, it almost killed me," Shadow Weaver told her therapist, "I spent weeks in a Fright Zone prison cell, slowly starving to death. I had been attempting to wean myself off the addiction for years, but none of the usual healing spells would cure me of my condition. If I was to survive, I would have had to do something desperate. I escaped my imprisonment and made my way to Brightmoon to surrender myself to the Princess Alliance. I saw the reports that Adora had managed to use an as-of-yet unheard of ability to heal the lands of Plumeria after the Horde had poisoned the earth there using the power of the Black Garnet. It was a long shot, but she was my only chance, if not for survival, then at least revenge. I was going to make Adora try to heal me, but if she couldn't, I was going to tell her the truth about everything. Everything she would need to defeat Hordak."

"So that was the third time you chose the wrong side," Adora translated, "And I thought I switched roles alot."

"I did what I always did, only what was necessary to survive," Shadow Weaver declared, "That is the one lesson I hoped to instill in my children. I debased myself before Master Norwyn so I could have the power to protect myself. I killed him and joined the Horde to survive off of the power of the Black Garnet. I fled the Fright Zone to throw myself at Brightmoon's mercy because that was my only chance at mercy after Hordak betrayed me. Don't you dare tell me you would have done any different in my position."

"Fair enough," Adora noted, a small smirk forming on her lips, "You say that Hordak betrayed you. Like Micah did. Except this time, you appear to have taken it much more personally."

Shadow Weaver sighed as she put her cup and saucer back down on the table before sinking back down into the couch.

"When I arrived in the Fright Zone," Shadow Weaver recollected, "Hordak did not see my gender, my disfigurements, my weaknesses. He only saw the power I wielded that he could put to use. At the time, it was a most refreshing change from the social quagmires of Mysticore. Hordak only saw me for my value to him. No more, no less. I suppose that is what attracted me to him in the first place."

"That's an... interesting choice of words," Adora commented, "You found yourself *attracted* to Hordak."

"Well, what can I say?" admitted Shadow Weaver with a shrug, "A woman still has her needs to satisfy, even if she has turned herself into an all consuming parasite. But when I made clear my intentions to form a closer relationship with the dark lord, he took me into his sanctum to set me straight in private. As I lay on the floor of his laboratory, unable to even breathe, he told me plainly that I was not his lover, his surrogate child or even his friend. I was his subject and I would serve him as he saw fit. And after that, the moment he could find someone else able to do my job better than I could, I would be nothing to him. After that, he turned the atmosphere back on, picked me up off the ground and sent me away. The experience left me cold, but at the very least I would always knew where I stood with him... or so I thought at the time."

"And that changed at some point?" Adora concluded, as they wrote down another note.

"Near the end of her training, I had made a number of mistakes regarding my care for Adora," Shadow Weaver explained, "It was shortly after I found out Micah had managed to marry and impregnate the young Brightmoon princess when Hordak had found her while investigating a spacial anomaly in the Whispering Woods. He gifted her to me to take care of. She would have been the perfect soldier for him. Cunning, brave, strong. If only she hadn't left me. I would have given anything to have her back. But everything I did only served to push her away. In the end, Hordak grew tired of my constant string of failures and finally pulled the trigger on his threat. Taking the Black Garnet from me was bad enough. But the person he gave it to..."

Shadow Weaver's clenched her fists as she tried to breathe deeply to calm herself down.

"Someone so... young..." Shadow Weaver seethed, "...so pretty... a Princess nonetheless. That was when I realized the truth of what he meant when he took me into his chambers, that I was just an ugly, old witch that was too unappealing to ever be cared for by anyone. I had deceived myself into thinking that Hordak was different, that he only cared about results, about merit. But the truth is he was exactly the same as the disgusting old men I had fled from in Mysticore, thinking only with his tool."

Shadow Weaver picked up the tea cup and took one final swig of tea, spilling a bit of the warm liquid onto her mask.

"Oh, blast!" Shadow Weaver cursed, pulling out a hankerchief from her robes, "If you would excuse me, I haven't shown my face to anyone in a very long time."

"Of course," Adora said, looking away to focus on their notepad.

As Shadow Weaver removed the mask and put it on the table to wipe it clean, Adora snuck a peak at the exposed face of their client. Her piercing green eyes gazing intently at the mask in front of her, her pale dark skin had somewhat wrinkled with age, but still looked perfectly clear.

"I was told you wear a mask to hide your scars from the accident in Mysticore," remarked Adora absentmindedly.

"Yes, I know!" Shadow Weaver snapped in frustration, "Don't worry, you won't have to look at them soon enough..."

"Have you..." began Adora with a look of confusion, "Have you looked in a mirror... since Adora healed you?"

"Of course, I do," Shadow Weaver said, returning the mask to her face, "I don't need you to comment on my appearance. I know how hidious I look. I see it everyday."

"Interesting," noted Adora as they scribbled something else down, "I think that's enough for today. You've given me plenty to go over before our next session."

"Very well, then," Shadow Weaver said, getting up to leave, "Until next time, performer."

~*~

DT's Notes

Shadow Weaver, Session 2  
-Going to ask that Catra and Adora sit this one out, I think they're both still too close for comfort in terms of making progress.  
-However, I think I know the perfect face to get Shadow Weaver to open up  
-Hostile to treatment, cooperating out of obligation to Queen Glimmer  
-Negative feelings towards Mysticore, accusations of corruption and nepotism  
-So apparently the sorcerer's guild brings new meaning to the term, "Casting Couch", yikes.  
-Very serious accusations of misogyny and sexism within the Sorcerers Guild, plausible but will need to verify because... Shadow Weaver  
-Negative feelings towards Glimmer's aunt, feelings of jealousy and resentment towards her position in the Guild  
-Claims to have no ill feelings towards Micah... will need to go over this in a later session.  
-Unrequited romantic feelings towards Hordak  
-More feelings of jealousy, this time towards Entrapta, are Adora and Micah the only people Shadow Weaver doesn't despise?  
-And apparently, Shadow Weaver has a severe case of facial dysmorphia


	27. Glimmer, Session 5

"I don't know how to say this..." Glimmer began, nervously figiting on the couch, "I'm late."

"Oh, don't you worry about it. It was only a few minutes," Double Trouble reassured Glimmer, checking their timepiece, "We still have plenty of time to have a productive session today."

"No, I mean..." Glimmer corrected, gesturing below her waist, "I'm late."

"Oh... I see," Double Trouble said, "Does that mean you're..?"

"I don't know yet," Glimmer said, "I'm told it could just be stress throwing my body out of wack, and things have been really stressful lately. But there is the strong possibility that I am... pregnant."

"Well, there's one obvious way to rule out that possibility," Double Trouble explained, writing down on their notepad, "When is the last time you were intimate with someone capable of impregnating you?"

"Recent enough that I'm worried," Glimmer answered.

"Interesting..." Double Trouble commented, scribbling another note down, "You haven't mentioned a suitor before. Who is the lucky guy?"

"Aaagh..." Glimmer exhaled sharply, "It's Bow. He snuck into the castle one night and we... reconnected."

"Oh, don't hold back, please," Double Trouble encouraged, continuously scratching on their notepad, "Tell me everything."

"There was a whole lot we couldn't talk about that I wanted to tell him," Glimmer recollected, "But asked what it was like working with my Dad, what he was like. I told him how much I missed him. How hard it was keeping everything together without him. He just wanted to check up to make sure I was okay, but before he could leave, I kissed him... and teleported his clothes off. And then I woke up with a horse right up in my face, staring at my naked body in the middle of the night. Apparently, in my rush to get things back on track with Bow, Swiftwind got left outside with no idea what was going on. So that was a whole thing."

"Ooo," Double Trouble cooed, focused on their notepad with rapt interest, "So what did you all do next?"

"I kicked them both out and told them not to come back," Glimmer quickly reported with some confusion, "What? Did you expect something else to happen?"

"Riiight," Double Trouble responded, writing down another note with a twinge of disappointment, "Have you thought about what you want to do now?"

"I... don't know," Glimmer answered, "I mean, if I was going to have a kid, I couldn't think of someone else I rather have one with. But with everything going on right now, I just don't think I'm ready."

"So don't," suggested Double Trouble, continuing to write on their notepad, "You do have options here. Whatever you decide is your choice, no one else's. And just because you don't want to have a child right now, doesn't mean you'll never have one."

"I know all this," Glimmer grumbled, "But I'm worried that if I put this off, I'll never feel ready enough. I've been fighting a war against the Horde my entire life. This is the first time in generations Etheria has lived in relative peace and I'm not sure if anything will ever get better. If I can't be ready now, I don't know if I ever will be."

"Well, having children isn't something anyone *has* to do," Double Trouble replied, quickly writing something down, "A person can have a perfectly fulfilling life without ever having children of their own. But for what it's worth, I can think of far worse candidates for parenting material."

"I mean, yeah, so can I," Glimmer said, "But just because I'm not the worst doesn't mean I'm not going to screw this up royally."

"Of course you are," Double Trouble answered, scribbling another note, "No one really knows what they're doing the first time around. You're going to make a ton of mistakes before you figure it out, if you ever do. It's not like being a parent comes with a guidebook or something."

"Aren't there, like, a ton of books written on child rearing?" asked Glimmer.

"Well... yes," admitted Double Trouble, writing something else down, "But what I mean to say is that raising a child isn't some skill you can practice over and over again like shooting a bow or casting a spell. Every person is different and they're constantly changing and you're not always going to keep up with them. But if you always come at them from a place of love and learn to accept the fact that they're not always going to do what you want or expect, the kid's gonna turn out fine."

"So you're saying I *should* have the baby," Glimmer translated.

"I'm saying that it's not my decision to make," Double Trouble argued, completely focused on their notepad, "Stop trying to get a yes or no answer out of me, like I'm one of your royal viziers telling you what country to invade. I told you that this is *your* choice, no one else's. I just want you to have all the facts."

Glimmer closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"Thank you," Glimmer said to Double Trouble, "I'm going to need some time to make a decision, but you've been very helpful."

"I'm happy to be of service, your Majesty," said Double Trouble, "But I would recommend getting tested to make sure this *isn't* just stress messing with your body clock."

"Yeah, good point," Glimmer said, "Maybe I do just need to relax. Did you want to get some lunch? I've got this strange craving for steak and ice cream."

"I'm sorry, I have an intervention scheduled after you," Double Trouble apologized, writing down one final note, "But feel free to indulge on my behalf."

~*~

DT's notes

Glimmer, Session 5  
-Glimmer seems worried about something, situation normal  
-It looks like there's a chance Glimmer is pregnant, how did that happen?  
-Okay, let's get to the good stuff...  
-*This explicit quickly scribbled together story embellishing Bow and Glimmer's night together has been censored to maintain a T rating*  
-Alright, so maybe I was hoping for too much in thinking this would go full Empress Glimmer the Great. Back to work.  
-So yeah, I have no idea what advice to give. I don't know anything about having kids... or a parent come to think of it.  
-Yeah, I would not be a good parent. Not that I ever plan on having kids.  
-Actually, I wonder if Scorpia would ever want children, she seems like she would be a good mother.  
-I'm getting too far ahead of myself, we haven't even had our first date yet.  
-Okay, I blanked out again, what are we even talking about now?  
-Oh, that's right, Glimmer worried because she missed a period, I'm pretty sure it's just the natural stress of being put in charge of an entire planet at a very young age. Will probably recommend a vacation or something.  
-Nevermind, she's definitely pregnant.


	28. Mermista, Session 5

Mermista's handmaiden opened the door for her and bowed as the princess entered the office. Mermista walked straight in and sat herself down on a chair next to the couch. Double Trouble was already sat in their usual chair.

"Sit down," Mermista ordered the handmaiden, patting the seat of the couch.

"Um, excuse me, dearie?" Mrs. Suspicious Arson asked, "I must be getting a little deaf in my old age."

The handmaiden looked to Mermista and then Double Trouble and back, only to be met with serious stares.

"Sit..." Mermista growled, pointing at the couch, "Down..."

Mrs. Suspicious Arson nervously shuffled over to the couch and sat down on the couch.

"Is everything alright, dearie?" the handmaiden asked.

"Well, first off..." Mermista began, "We know you're Seahawke in a wig and dress."

"Oh, thank heavens!" Mrs. Arson cried out in relief, his voice dropping several octaves and losing it's fancy accent as he took off his wig and stood up to pose flamboyantly on the couch, "Yes! It is I, your beloved Seahawke, protecting you in secret. Seriously though, you have no idea how uncomfortable this dress got. I can see why your last girl quit. I had been leaving hints for you for weeks. I was worried I was so good at diguising myself you would never figure it out."

"So... why didn't you just tell me?" asked Mermista.

"I mean... I could haaave?" Seahawke answered, "But that's only because I wanted to make my eventual reveal to you all the more dramatic."

"Well, I can certainly respect that," Double Trouble commented.

"I don't," Mermista said, "You could have done this whole dramatic reveal thing anytime. Why did you put me through this for so long?"

"Maybe I was waiting for some acknowledgement of all the hard work I do for you..." pouted Seahawke, crossing his arms and legs and turning away, "Did you know you never once thanked me for making you breakfast, or cleaning your castle, or doing your laundry?"

"That was your job!" Mermista shouted, "I was literally paying you to do all those things for me!"

"Well, maybe I didn't take the job for the money," Seahawke sniffled, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe away a tear, "Maybe I just wanted to find out what you really thought of our relationship. Because, lately, it seems like I'm the only one trying to make things work between us."

"Uggh," Mermista groaned, folding her arms and rolling her eyes, "What do you want from me? You're the one who left to join the resistance."

"I left because I knew how unhappy this occupation business was making you," Seahawke explained, "And I came back because I was worried about how you were doing all by yourself, without my cheerful melodies to brighten your spirit."

"Oh, please don't remind me about your singing," Mermista sighed, rubbing her temples, "I swear your songs have gotten even more annoying since you started doing this whole bit."

"Oh come now," Seahawke scoffed, "Don't tell me I didn't see you smile during my heartful rendition of 'A shellful of oysters helps the seaweed go down' this morning?"

"I was picturing how good my life would be if I finally went deaf," Mermista snarked.

"My heavens, no!" Seahawke gasped, "How could you say such a horrible thing? Why, if my family could see us right now..."

"You don't have a family, Seahawke," Mermista corrected, "You're an orphan."

"Yes, found and raised by the Brotherhood of Perpetual Refrain," said Seahawke, "And they would be very ashamed in you right now. The joy of music is one of their most treasured virtues."

"I'm sorry, you were raised by monks?" Double Trouble interjected, "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Oh my, yes," Seahawke said, excitedly pulling out a photograph, "I spent a very loving childhood in that jolly little monastery by the sea."

Seahawke got up to give the photograph to Double Trouble and went behind their chair to look over their shoulder at the smiling faces in the picture.

"See, there's me," said Seahawke, pointing at a young brown haired, blue eyed child in brown robes.

"Brother Archibald the Wise," he pointed at a tall, slender Salinean man in brown robes wearing glasses.

"Brother Agatha the Adorable," he pointed at a small, pink Elberanian in brown robes fluttering in the top corner of the picture.

"Brother Eldwin the Bashful," he pointed at the face of a monk with grey fur and horns peeking out from behind another monk.

"Brother David the Naughty but not that Naughty because he's a monk," he pointed at the large bear-like creature looming behind them with brown hair and a big bushy beard.

"And there's my mentor, Brother Alfred the Bizarre," he pointed at a man in the center with a thin mustache and glasses wearing a tropical shirt and playing an accordion.

"Why is his hair so long and frizzy?" Mermista commented, having snuck up behind Double Trouble's other shoulder, "I thought monks were all supposed to have that stupid bowl cut with the bald spot."

"That's what made him bizarre!" explained Seahawke, "Truly the best adoptive family a young boy like me could ask for. But when I looked out to the ocean and heard the call to adventure, I knew my destiny lay elsewhere. So, as soon as I was old enough, I left to become a sailor and spread the joy I found here to all corners of Etheria!"

"That's a good idea," Mermista said sarcastically, returning to her chair, "Why don't you go do that? Right now."

"You see?" Seahawke exclaimed to Double Trouble, gesturing towards Mermista, "This is what I mean. I offer my heart and soul to her and all she can do is make jokes at my expense and tear me down with her cynicism."

"Yes, I wonder if we might want to try a variation on my usual roleplay therapy," Double Trouble suggested, "Mermista, Seahawke, I want the two of you to pretend to be the other person and try to understand the other persons point of view."

"Oh, a capital idea!" shouted Seahawke, reaching behind the couch to pick up the wig he dropped on the floor and put it back on his head, "Ahem... Yes, I am the beautiful Mermista, Princess of Salineas. My whole deal is I try not look like I care about anything, because caring about things is just... super lame and being coldly detached about everything is absolutely the coolest."

Mermista gave Seahawke an exhausted dreary look before turning over to Double Trouble.

"Yeah," Mermista said, "I'm not going to be a part of this."

"And that's okay," Double Trouble reassured, "How about I take over for you and you can just jump in whenever you feel you're ready?"

"Sure," Mermista acknowledged, "Whatever..."

Double Trouble got up from their chair and transformed into the dashing pirate captain, adjusting their proud moustache.

"My dearest," the other Seahawke began, "Why must you choose to hide your feelings from everyone around you?"

"What feelings?" the real Seahawke responded, "That's something only losers like you have. I certainly don't have any of those, even though I took you aside to tell you how excited I was to see Adora turn into She-Ra for the first time and how I asked you to invite her out to dinner with us because I didn't want to look too desperate in front of her."

"Now, wait a minute!" Mermista interrupted.

"Oh, Mermista!" the fake Seahawke said, "Did you want to take over?"

"No," answered Mermista, "but that's not how that went-"

"Tut-tut!" the fake Seahawke hushed, putting a finger to Mermita's lips, "You just sit down and keep quiet until you're ready to participate, okay? Until then, if you watch and listen, you might learn something important. Now then, 'Mermista', let's continue."

"Ahem, yes, umm," the real Seahawke stammered, clearing his throat, "And then there was the time I showed you those pictures I drew of my magical princess alter ego Sea-Ra and asked you if you thought Adora would like them?"

"Oh, that's all you care about, isn't it?" the fake Seahawke observed, "What other people think of you. Well, maybe people would like you more if you let them see the real you. If you weren't so afraid to let your friends know what you liked, maybe you would find out that they liked the same things. Or that they liked something different that you might like too."

"And what if it's just something else for them to make fun of?" the real Seahawke grumbled, "Like that washed up old sea dog who used to hang around me. He was never shy about telling everyone how he felt. It was always so embarrassing to be seen with him. I'm glad he's gone. I'm better off without him. A princess like me deserves better than a common pirate."

"If that was true, why did you keep me around?" the fake Seahawke said, "You could have simply not hired me or fired me at any point. By jove, you're a princess, you can have me thrown away into a dungeon for the rest of my days or make me walk the plank down to davy jones' locker. Why do you go along with all my zany schemes for so long even though you're so embarrassed the entire time?"

"I mean, I'm just a bored princess," argued the real Seahawke, "You're just the Court Jester to I parade out for my entertainment, because no matter how badly I treat you and ignore you, you'll always come crawling back to me."

"Hold up a second!" Mermista interrupted again, "How did I become the bad guy in all this?"

"Hmm," sighed the fake Seahawke, "Mermista, you know I'm not supposed to take sides. But if you don't participate in the process, the only side we're going to see is Seahawke's. So how about you come up and take my place and we can get your interpretation into the mix."

"Uggh," Mermista groaned, standing up from the chair, "Fine. But I'm not dressing up."

"Of course," Seahawke said as they turned back into Double Trouble and sat back down.

Mermista stared silently at the pouting man in drag lying in the couch in front of her before turning back to Double Trouble.

"I don't know what Seahawke would say," she said stoicly.

"How about you say something you want Seahawke to say to you?" Double Trouble suggested.

"Okay then," Mermista said, each sentence out of her mouth getting louder and angrier, "I'm sorry I lied to you, Mermista. I'm sorry I thought I couldn't just tell you what was going on. I'm sorry I put you through all this stupid, roundabout, passive-aggressive nonsense instead of just talking to you. Because maybe you didn't deserve the way I treated you!"

Seahawke let out a loud gulp as his pouting turned to shame.

"I... think you're right..." Seahawke admitted, "I didn't deserve the way you treated me. You should have told me what was going on from the beginning. Maybe I'm not the only one in Etheria who has trouble communicating exactly what I feel. But now that this is all out in the open, maybe we can still find a way to work things out?"

"I... hope we can still do that too..." Mermista replied, her demeanor softening slightly.

"And maybe I'll be okay with letting people call you my boyfriend?" Seahawke asked hopefully as he got up excitedly off the couch.

"But because I'm such a good boyfriend, I'm not going to push my luck," Mermista argued, her demeanor quickly hardening again.

"I'll take it!" Seahawke said, pointing his finger at the ceiling triumphantly, "Is this the part where we kiss and make up?"

"Yeah, sure," Mermista said, grabbing Seahawke by the waist and pulling him into a dip.

"My heavens!" Seahawke gasped before closing his eyes as Mermista kissed him.

"So, are we doing here?" Mermista asked Double Trouble after unceremoniously letting Seahawke fall to the ground.

"That depends," Double Trouble noted, "Did you both learn something about each other today?"

"Well, I for one, found this whole experience most illuminating!" Seahawke exclaimed, "I've felt something awaken inside of me. A calling that was always there, but I just never noticed it until now."

"Oh, great," Mermista said, "You want me to hire a wizard to give you a sex change spell."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Seahawke answered, "That won't be necessary. No, what I want to become... is an actor!"

"Oh, Seahawke, that's such great news," Double Trouble encouraged, "You certainly have the charisma, if a little... raw, for the stage. But fortunately for you I can give you a few lessons on how to hone your craft. My time is not cheap however."

Seahawke made a small high pitched hum as he look upon Mermista with the widest eyes he could muster.

"Uggh..." Mermista groaned, "How much?"

"500 gold ducats an hour," said Double Trouble.

"Alright, but on one condition," Mermista told Seahawke, "No one, and I mean no one, hears about what happened here today. Got it?"

"You have my eternal silence and gratitude," saluted Seahawke.

"Excellent, I'll have to move around my schedule to see when I can fit you in," Double Trouble said, pushing the two out the door, "I let you know what I can work out, Goodnight!"

Mermista and Seahawke barely reacted with minor confusion as their therapist forced them out of the office and closed the door behind them.

"I still need to find something to wear for tomorrow night..." Double Trouble told themself.

~*~

DT's Notes

Mermista, Session 5  
-Intervention with Seahawke today, aka Mrs. Suspicious Arson.  
-Going to let Mermista take the lead on this one.  
-Well, that was fast  
-Looks like this has morphed into a couple's therapy session  
-Got to hear more about Seahawke's family history  
-Tried role reversal therapy between Mermista and Seahawke, Seahawke was enthusiatic, Mermista is resistant  
-A firm touch was needed to get Mermista onboard  
-Kinda regret letting Mermista take over before the make up kiss


	29. 5th Interlude, Happy Birthday Frosta

"I feel ridiculous," Hordak complained, as with one arm, he adjusted the white ruffle on the front of his blue suit with gold trim.

"I know it's not ideal," Entrapta encouraged, her purple hair smacking Hordak's claw away before taking over fixing his suit, "It's very hard to find formalwear your size. How do I look?"

Hordak's green eyes methodically surveyed the poofy gold dress Entrapta was wearing. Entrapta had decided she wanted to look more traditionally like a princess today. It was obvious from the way she walked she was not used to wearing a dress. Hordak could smell the sweet fruit flavored perfume she was wearing. He didn't want to tell her how much he preferred her usual odor of sweat soaked fabrics and engine lubricant.

"Beautiful as always," Hordak commented, "I don't see why you need me here."

"Of course, I need my lab partner to help me collect data," Entrapta explained, wrapping her arm around Hordak's elbow, "This is going to be the biggest social gathering we've been a part of since I found you again. Besides, this is going to be so much more fun with you around. Do you remember when I taught you how to dance?"

"It was just after you first enhanced my armor," Hordak recollected, leading the princess through the ice castle, "Catra was still banished to the Crimson Wastes, so I could be assured of our time alone together. I built a holographic projector to show you the Milky Way Galaxy. I'm still surprised someone so learned had never heard of stars before."

"Ignorance is only flaw when you fail to be correct it," Entrapta lectured, cuddling up to her date, "No one on Etheria knew what stars really were before you came along. I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful in my life. To be honest, that was my first time dancing with someone else who wasn't a robot."

Hordak sighed as he looked from the princess cradling his right arm to the hastily wrapped box he was carrying in his left.

"Are you sure about this, Entrapta?" asked Hordak, "My previous encounters with your friends have not exactly been... cordial."

"You'll be fine," Entrapta reassured, "Just remember all the stuff you still need to apologize for and hopefully we can start smoothing everything over in one night. I'll give you a quick pop quiz, if that will make you feel better. Let's start simple. Princess Frosta."

"Presides over the Kingdom of the Snows," recited Hordak, "Parents were supporters of the first rebellion led by King Micah until they were both killed in battle by our forces. Since then, the Kingdom has remained neutral during most of the rebellion until a botched kidnapping operation by Shadow Weaver had nearly destroyed the very castle we are standing in. She is responsible for the most damage towards our drones and armored vehicles."

"Good," Entrapta graded, "Princess Perfuma."

"Ruler of Plumeria," continued Hordak, "Top exports include vegetarian foodstuffs and rare plantlife. The Horde attempted to poison their land to starve the rebellion. Responsible for the highest number of fatalities in combat encounters with the Horde."

"Excellent," said Entrapta, "Mermista."

"Princess of Salineas," Hordak answered, "I am personally responsible for the destruction of the Seagate and most of her kingdom. According to you, I have already apologized for this during an encounter which had left me inebriated and unable to recall the events that took place. She is currently using our own automated construction designs to repair her kingdom."

"Uh-huh," noted Entrapta, "Queen Glimmer."

"Daughter of Queen Angela of Brightmoon and one of her top commanders during the war," Hordak described, "I personally captured her father and banished him to Beast Island where he is presumed dead. I also attempted to beat her to death with a club on the day she surrendered her forces to Horde Prime. Needless to say that was... not my proudest moment."

"And finally... Adora," Entrapta concluded.

"The She-Ra, Princess of Power," Hordak sighed, "I recovered her as a child from the Whispering Woods and left her in the care of Shadow Weaver. Showed promise as my next force captain before she defected and joined the Rebellion. She in particular resents me for her treatment at the hands of Shadow Weaver."

"You see?" Entrapta said as the doors opened for them, "Just stay close to me and we'll do just fine. Oh, look at the Hors D'oeuvres they have! Princess Parties always have the best tiny snacks."

Entrapta let go of Hordak's arm to pick up her dress as she quickly hurried over to the buffet table to grab a plate, her hair spreading out like an octopus over the entire selection to grab samples. Hordak silently stood there alone, looking confused and nervous, wearing his garish brightly colored suit and holding the tiny box in his claws, in a large finely decorated ballroom full of people who had every reason to hate him. Which is why he was surprised to see a man with a small layer of brown peachfuzz on his upper lip walk right up to him and pat him on the shoulder.

"Hordak, my boy!" Seahawke greeted, "Why I haven't seen you since our exciting night roaming the docks of Salineas. How have you beem, old sport?!"

"I'm sorry," Hordak apologized awkwardly, "Have we met before?"

"Ah, right!" Seahawke realized, "As I recall, you did take quite firmly to the sauce during our delicious double dinner date. Perhaps if we were to return you to that state, it may assist in your recollection."

Seahawke grabbed two glasses of golden bubbling liquid from a passing waiter and handed one to Hordak. Hordak politely grabbed the glass with his free claw as Seahawke clinked his own against it before taking a sip which he promptly spat it out.

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Seahawke, gagging slightly as he examined his glass, "This isn't champagne! It's ginger-ale!"

"Seahawke..." hissed Mermista angrily as she walked over to the commotion, "We're at a birthday party organized by a twelve year old girl. If there was any liquor in this place, don't you think I would have found it already?"

"Oh..." Seahawke sighed dejectedly, handing the princess his glass, "Of course."

"Your Majesty," Hordak greeted, give a short bow, "How fares the reconstruction of Salineas? Are the automatons to your satisfaction?"

"Things are great, thanks," Mermista said half-heartedly, before downing the drink in a single gulp, "Entrapta's robots are kinda creepy but they work quickly."

"I am sorry their aesthetics do not meet your standards of approval," Hordak said sincerely, "I'm sure Entrapta would be very happy to make any changes in their design to better suit you."

"That won't be necessary," Mermista shrugged, grabbing Seahawke firmly by the arm, "If you'll excuse me, I need to get this mess cleaned up."

"Of course," said Hordak, raising his glass to the princess, "It is... good to see you again."

Mermista dragged Seahawke to a nearby chair where she sat him down and wiped the ginger-ale and saliva off his shirt with a napkin. Hordak turned back to the buffet table where Entrapta was returning from with a plate full of tiny sandwiches, baked goods and sweets.

"Oh, Hordak!" Entrapta gasped, "You got me a ginger-ale. You're so sweet."

Entrapta's hair pushed against the ground to lift her up to Hordak's face so she could kiss him on the cheek as she took the glass from him.

"Come on," Entrapta said, grabbing Hordak's free hand as she pulled him along, "We still need to greet the host."

Entrapta led Hordak to the throne on the far wall of the ballroom where a lineup of guests had formed to officially greet the princess of the hour. Hordak found himself behind a large woman with big red claws and a spiked tail in a silky and flattering black gown with white glitter next to a small thin green creature with long yellowy green hair, wearing a white long sleeved sweater and thick jogging pants with Etherian runes written over the bottom. In some contexts, the message they wrote out would be considered rather lewd in polite society.

"You said this was going to be casual party..." whispered Double Trouble, anxiously cradling their gift.

"I said this was going to be more casual than the Princess Prom," Scorpia whispered back with a twinge of excitement, "We only have to bow for two seconds this time."

As the group in front of them dispersed, Scorpia and Double Trouble stepped up to the throne and gave a short bow.

"Oh, hey!" Princess Frosta exclaimed happily, "You made it! Thanks for coming!"

"Hi, Frosta," Scorpia greeted as she raised from her bow, "Really love what you've done with the place after the... last time... I came here..."

"Oh, don't worry about what happened last time!" Frosta scoffed, "Tonight's a second chance to get everything right. I had been meaning to get this place renovated for a while now anyway. Oh! I really wanted to show you something I've been practicing, but I'm gonna be stuck here for awhile receiving guests. I'll find you when I'm done."

The former Horde soldier and spy bowed again as they left to rejoin the party as the former leader of the Etherian Horde and it's chief scientist stepped up after them.

"Princess Frosta of Etheria," Hordak declared, bowing for the required two seconds, "I have come to present an offering in recognition of you achieving the bare minimum of existence for twelve years."

"Yeah... Adora said Entrapta might be bringing you..." Frosta sighed, before she took a deep breath and stiffened in her demeanor, "The Kingdom of the Snows accepts your gift in the good faith it was intended, in the hopes of continued peace between our peoples. Just... put it on the pile. We'll open them after the banquet."

Frosta motioned to a small mountain of presents beside her throne, each of them bigger and more intricately decorated then the modest box Hordak held in his claws. Hordak carefully placed it near the top of the pile and then gave another bow before returning to the main gathering with Entrapta beside him.

"You see?" Entrapta said, "What did I tell you? You're doing great!"

"You and I appear to have a very different perspective on how tonight's events are proceeding," whispered Hordak.

"You're just nervous," Entrapta explained, giving him a reassuring on the arm, "That is to be expected, according to my research. Here, the band is playing something slow right now. This is something I know you'll excel at."

Entrapta led Hordak over to a dance floor set up in front of a string quartet playing a soothing waltz for the birthday party. She turned to face him, holding his right hand with her left and wrapping her right arm around him just below the waist. Hordak intertwined his claw with Entrapta's fingers and placed his other claw on her shoulder. Because of Entrapta's proportions and her large amount of hair, it was easy to forget how short she was compared the dark lord, a fact that made him feel all the more awkward and uncomfortable.

"Good," Entrapta spoke up, "Let's start with some basic spins to get you comfortable with the music. I can't see a whole lot from my position, so why don't you tell me what you see going on?"

Hordak didn't want to correct her that while his hearing and sense of smell were far above the average etherian by virtue of his species, his eyesight was in fact much worse in the bright blue lighting of this party. It is why he always preferred the deep dark reds of his sanctum or the dim purples of Entrapta's laboratory. Hoping Entrapta did not notice, Hordak closed his eyes and began to focus his ears on the low whispers of the party. His attention was drawn to sound of harsh footsteps dragging someone more graceful into the corner of the room.

"What are you doing here?" he heard a young woman's voice hiss, "I thought I told you to break things off with Scorpia."

"I did exactly what you said," a deeper, smoother voice replied, "As of today, I told her I'm can't her therapist anymore so there's no longer a conflict of interest."

"I ordered you to stay away from her," the woman argued, "Do you want her to find out you've been sending threatening letters to the princess she has a crush on?"

"One letter, singular, sent during a moment of weakness," the other voice whispered, their anger becoming much more apparent, "And she's not going to find out. Not unless someone tells her..."

"Then how do you explain this?" the woman asked.

Hordak could hear a shuffle of paper from their direction.

"That's not me," the other voice denied, their tone becoming much more concerned and serious, "I only sent the one letter. This is someone else."

"It would appear the Queen of Brightmoon is having a serious argument with our therapist," Hordak told Entrapta, "Something very serious by the looks of it."

"Ooo, fascinating," Entrapta cooed, her head cuddling up to Hordak's torso as they danced, "Can you hear what they're talking about?"

"Unfortunately, it is difficult to ascertain over the music," Hordak lied, feeling somewhat hesitant in his position as Entrapta's spy.

"...what you've done. Enjoy the party, traitors," the woman read aloud, "Rest assured you will all get your just desserts."

"I'm telling you that's not me!" the other voice shouted.

Hordak began to feel uncomfortable listening in something so personal and sensitive. His Imp always knew how to filter out the irrellevant personal details in his reports. Hordak soon realized how much he missed having the small creature around, but then suppressed the feeling, remembering how his brothers would treat a defective clone like him. No, Imp is smart enough to survive on his own, it is better Hordak not think about how he is doing and where he could be. Hordak returned his focus on the other party goers.

"The Salineas Princess's guest appears to be on a table boasting about learning to become Etheria's greatest actor," Hordak continued to report, "The Princess herself appears to have developed an interest in spelunking. Apparently, she wants to 'crawl into a deep hole and dive'."

"Uh-huh," Entrapta said, "Go on."

"Our host has left her throne to entertain her guests," Hordak described, "It looks as though she is presently showing Princess Scorpia a tail she made out of ice."

Hordak felt Entrapta's hair push something hard into his head as they danced.

"Oops," Entrapta said, letting go of Hordak, "Sorry."

"Entrapta..." Hordak whispered, stopping the dance to look at her hair, "Is that your recording device?"

"Of course!" Entrapta replied, her hair waving in front of Hordak's face to show it to him, "This is all great data for my research into social interactions."

"You say these people are you friends," said Hordak, leading her away from the dance floor, "But for the most part your interactions with them appear to be just you observing them from a distance. I am beginning to wonder if these 'social lessons' of yours are in fact for my benefit, or if I am just another test subject for your own experiments."

"Oh..." Entrapta said, deflating like a balloon as she let go of Hordak's claw, "The truth is... I'm really not good when it comes to making friends. I know I talk too much and people find it hard to understand me sometimes. I'm really bad at knowing when someone is paying me a compliment or if they're just making fun of me."

"I have noticed," Hordak growled, looming over her as she backed against a wall.

"But you've always been honest with me," Entrapta continued, fidgeting with her hair as she avoided Hordak's piercing gaze, "My data shows that in all of our interactions, you've never tried to make fun of me or humiliate me. You were never nice to me just because you wanted me to do something for you. You always told me exactly how you felt about me or what I did all the time. That's why I know that if I asked you if someone was being mean or taking advantage of me, you'd tell me the truth."

Hordak raised an eyebrow as he studied Entrapta.

"So I am not here because you want rehabilitate me in the eyes of your friends," Hordak translated, backing away slightly, "You want to know if they truly are your friends in the first place."

"Well, yes..." Entrapta answered, pushing her hair back behind her face, "But I also really do want you to apologize to them for all the bad things you've done."

"Very well," said Hordak, offering his arm for Entrapta to hold onto, "I am glad we could finally clear this up."

"You're not mad?" Entrapta asked, cautiously placing her hand over Hordak's arm.

"I am disappointed you felt the need to keep this a secret from me," Hordak answered, leading her away from their dark corner, "It is my duty to serve you in any way you deem fit."

"Of course," Entrapta said, her mood brightening as she wrapped her arm around Hordak's, "I'm sorry, I guess I'm still learning, too."

"It is alright," Hordak said, "As the smartest person I know recently informed me, ignorance is only a flaw when you fail to correct it."

Entrapta's hair lifted her up again to give Hordak another kiss. Hordak's cheek blushed slightly as he stroked it absentmindedly.

"Thank you, Hordak," said Entrapta, before her eyes widened with excitement, "Oh, look! There's Adora! Let's go say 'Hi'!"

Entrapta waved at the blonde woman in the red dress and her furry date in a matching tuxedo.

"For the last time, we're not regifting Perfuma's get well present," Adora told Catra, "Besides, Frosta is allergic to nuts."

"Hi Catra!" Entrapta shouted, "Hi Adora!"

"Oh, no..." Catra groaned, deciding at that time to focus her interest on the Hors D'oeuvres.

"Hello, Entrapta," Adora greeted warmly, her expression hardening as she turned to the clone beside her, "Hordak..."

"She-Ra," Hordak greeted respectfully, before his voice deepened into a harsh growl, "Force Captain..."

"That's Director of Etherian Operations Catra to you," Catra corrected, smugly pointing her finger into Hordak's chest, "What in Etheria are you wearing? it looks like something from a hundred years ago."

"Four hundred," Hordak corrected, taking a drink from one of the waiters, "The Princess Entrapta has elected to provide me with tonight's formal wear."

"Speaking of which," Adora said, glaring at her companion, "Catra, don't you have something you want to say?"

"Uggh..." sighed Catra as she turned to face Entrapta, "I'm sorry I knocked you out from behind with a stun stick that one time. You didn't deserve that and you certainly didn't deserve being banished to Beast Island."

"Okay, I forgive you," Entrapta said plainly, giving the catgirl a hug, "I'm glad we're friends again."

Catra stood perfectly still as she winced in Entrapta's embrace, silently pleading to Adora for help.

"Excuse me, Princess," Hordak said, pulling Entrapta away to hiss in her ear, "Remember what you told about people taking advantage of you? Don't you think you're being a little too quick to-"

"So..." Adora interrupted, taking sip from her glass of ginger ale, "How have you guys been progressing on the whole excavating my destroyed castle to build a planet destroying weapon for a galaxy conquering dictator thing?"

"Adora..." Catra scolded.

"Oh, your castle is amaaazing!" Entrapta said, "I have so many questions about everything! I would love to have you come over some time to show me around properly."

"I don't think that's possible," Catra interjected, "I have Adora working for me on a number of projects right now. I'll see if I can schedule something, but I wouldn't hold my breath."

Hordak gave an involuntary shudder at Catra's word choice.

"What precisely *does* she do for you?" Hordak inquired, "I have noticed you look less... unkempt... since taking your new position. Do you have her groom you now?"

"...maybe..." Catra said as she nervously tucked her wings behind her ears before standing up straight in an attempt to assert her confidence, "How I choose to allocate Etheria's resources is a matter between me and Horde Prime. If that is not to you satisfaction, I suggest you take it up with him."

"Perhaps I will," Hordak threatened, "But I'm sure he doesn't need me to evaluate your dubious qualifications. Do not become too comfortable in your position... Director. You will find my brother to be far less forgiving of failure than I was."

"I guess that's why he put me in charge of this planet and you in charge of that dank cave you call a castle," Catra snarked, "Maybe you should be more concerned with your lack of progress than mine."

"I am *very* confident with the work Entrapta has done for the Horde," Hordak sneered, "You are fortunate she has managed to survive your bungling."

"Hordak," Entrapta interrupted, "I think maybe we should stop talking about work and let Adora and her guest enjoy the party."

"Agreed..." snarled Hordak as he turned away with a dramatic flourish, regretting the fact he wasn't currently wearing a cape.

Entrapta gave a polite wave to Catra and gave Adora a quick hug before rushing to follow her date who was stomping away with great speed.

"So I'm going to guess that interaction was not as productive as we hoped," Entrapta theorized.

"At the very least, you seem to be improving in your ability to read social situations," Hordak commented, "Why did you tell Catra you forgave her?"

"Because I do forgive her," Entrapta answered, "How can we ask for forgiveness if we're not willing to give it ourselves?"

"I am not here for their forgiveness!" Hordak snarled, "After everything I've done, I do not expect it, nor require it! I am fully prepared for your friends to hate me for the rest of their natural lives, because I have never cared a modicum of what they think of me even once! Because to be perfectly honest with you, a princess that is willing to overlook that history between us is a princess either too stupid or too deceitful to be trusted!"

"Then what's the point of doing all this!" Entrapta yelled back.

"The point, Princess, is, and always has been, you!" Hordak argued, "I agreed to come here because *you* asked me to! I agreed go along with your lessons in social interactions because *you* felt it was necessary! Everything I have done since you came back in my life has been for your benefit and yours alone! Because you alone are the only thing on this whole pathetic world that is worthy of my consideration!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME!?" Entrapta screamed.

"BECAUSE, APPARENTLY, YOU DIDN'T EVEN CARE I WAS GONE!" Hordak roared.

The two stood apart staring at each other as they seethed with rage. The entire room fell silent for a second as the Princesses and their guests looked on at the commotion. Hordak's face turned bright red with embarrassment as his sensitive ears caught the mutterings of the crowd staring at him.

"I am truly sorry, Entrapta," Hordak apologized, hanging his head in shame, "This was a mistake. Enjoy the party with your friends. I will return when you are ready for me to take you home."

"Hordak, wait!" Entrapta said as Hordak turned around and began walking away, "Come back!"

Hordak ignored her as he pushed his way through the crowd and out a swinging doorway to the kitchens. The sounds of a team of chefs producing tonight's meal drowning out the ballroom full of princesses who were no doubt gossiping about his loud outburst. Hordak felt a pit in his stomach as he thought of what they were now saying about Entrapta and the rabid beast she allowed to come and terrorize their party.

"Stupid spoiled princess brats..." he heard a chef grumble under his breath, "They get to live it up, all day, every day of their lives while the rest of us slave over them and die in their pointless wars. Etheria is going to be so much better off without them."

Hordak turned to the direction of the angry whispering, but couldn't tell it's source from the army of cooks working diligently. He moved towards the closest one and hovered over him until he dropped the fish he was preparing onto the floor. Hordak carefully studied the shorter man as he determined whether or not he was the disgruntled worker.

"Excuse me," Hordak said, taking some small pleasure in the shorter man's fear, "Could you please direct me to the nearest restroom?"

~*~

Double Trouble opened the door and entered the ladies room with a sense of smug satisfaction on their face as Scorpia followed behind them. They checked themselves out in the mirror as Scorpia looked underneath each of the stalls to make sure no one else was inside.

"I must admit, I didn't expect to see this side of you so soon, my sweet Princess," Double Trouble said with a sly grin on their face, "As it stands I can certainly think of far worse places to have our first time."

"First time for what?" Scorpia asked as she locked the door behind them.

"Oh, you don't have to play innocent with me," Double Trouble cooed, "Don't think I didn't really know what you meant when you asked me to show you where the bathroom is. The two of us alone with no one to disturb us. I don't know how far you plan on going tonight, but I've come prepared for all kinds of fun."

"I just want to talk to you about something very private," Scorpia said, dropping her purse on the sink countertop to dig through it, "And I didn't want anyone else to hear."

"Oh, I bet you didn't," Double Trouble said, biting their lip as they approached Scorpia from behind, "Who do you want me to play first?"

"What can you tell be about this?" Scorpia asked, holding up a piece of paper to Double Trouble's face.

"Where did you get that?" Double Trouble asked, their eyes widening with fear as they recognized the letter in from of them, "Did Glimmer give that to you?"

"It doesn't matter where I got it," Scorpia answered, "Tell me you didn't write this to Perfuma?"

"I'm..." Double Trouble stammered, "I'm sorry, Scorpia, you weren't supposed to know about this."

"Why not?" Scorpia yelled, "Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't lie to you," Double Trouble said, holding her hands out as she began to panic, "I just... We were just trying to protect you."

"This is the kind of protection I can do without!" Scorpia scolded, angrily rolling the letter into a ball and throwing it back in her purse, "What were you even thinking when you wrote this?"

"I wasn't," Double Trouble admitted, "I was drunk. It was a mistake and I'm sorry."

"I think you're just sorry you got caught," Scorpia said, pacing around the bathroom as she rubbed her head in thought, "This can't be happening. I did it again. This is why Perfuma was so worried about how I felt when she rejected me. No, no, no. This is why she rejected me in the first place. You scared her off so you could have me all to yourself. I don't believe this."

"That's not true!" Double Trouble said, placing a hand on Scorpia's shoulder, "Look, I know I made a mistake when I wrote that letter. Please let me explain."

"Get away from me!" Scorpia yelled, as she recoiled away from them, "You're sick. You... you can't stay here. You need to leave."

"I need to leave?" Double Trouble asked, clasping their hands together and backing away from Scorpia as their lip trembled in shock.

"If I knew what kind of person you were, I would have never have invited you here," Scorpia accused, pointing a shaking claw at Double Trouble, "Get out. Now."

"Okay," Double Trouble gulped, walking towards the door, "I am really sorry, Scorpia. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I said, 'Get out!'" cried Scorpia, tears welling in her eyes as she threw her purse at Double Trouble, "I don't want to see you ever again!"

Double Trouble ducked away from the projectile as it hit the wall behind her and scattered it's contents all over the floor. They quickly unlocked the door and vanished behind it. Scorpia covered her eyes with her claws and bawled loudly into the sink for what felt like an eternity before the door creaked open again.

"What are you doing back?!" Scorpia shrieked between her sobs, "Leave me alone."

"I'm sorry, your Highness," a familiar deep male voice growled, "I could hear you from the mens room and just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Lord Hordak," Scorpia sniffled as she saluted on instinct.

"Put your claw down, Princess," Hordak said, "You do not take orders from me anymore, remember? You are the one who gives the orders now."

"I'm sorry," Scorpia whined, "I didn't want you to see me like this."

"It is alright, your Highness," Hordak said, turning back towards the door, "You do not need to hide yourself from me. I can leave if you wish."

"No, no..." Scorpia said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough..." Hordak admitted, bending over to pick up Scorpia's purse, as well as all the things that spilled out of it, "The walls of this palace are much thinner than the ice would lead you to believe."

"I've never been that angry in my life," Scorpia said, placing her claws on the counter to lean over the sink, "I just can't believe someone would lie to me like that. You and Entrapta said everyone loves me, but that can't be true, because it seem like everyone else just keeps trying to hurt me."

"I don't know what to say," Hordak said, placing Scorpia's purse on the counter beside her, "I've always found your planet's customs baffling ever since I first arrive here, but I suppose that is because I never spared the effort to learn until now. It always felt like something so... superfluous... unnecess-"

Hordak was interrupted by Scorpia wrapping her claws around his shoulders. After the initial shock wore off, Hordak decided to reciprocate the hug.

"There, there," Hordak awkwardly recited from Entrapta's lesson on consoling someone who is upset, robotically patting Scorpia on the back, "It'll be okay. Do you still wish to participate in the celebrations tonight?"

"Yes," Scorpia said, forcing a smile as she wiped away the rest of her tears, "I think I do. I think I'm going to feel much better knowing you and Entrapta are there. I know we never talked alot when I was in the Horde, but I always looked up to you as something of role model."

"Thank you, your Highness," Hordak said, offering his arm to Scorpia, "I can assure you that there are much better examples to follow than me. But... for what it's worth... this is the first time I've felt welcome here all night..."

~*~

Hordak and Scorpia returned to the ballroom in time for the great banquet. Hordak had been seated between Scorpia and Entrapta, with Seahawke and Mermista sitting across from them. The dinner proceeded much without incident, Hordak had barely touched his food and slide his plate to the Scorpion Princess when she asked if he was going to eat all that, knowing Entrapta's preferences prevented him from offering it to her. When it was time to bring out the cake, the gathering joined in a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' to Princess Frosta. Hordak, not knowing any of the words to the song, sniffed at the massive cake as it was wheeled past him by the chefs. Beyond the twelve wax candles, chocolate ice cream and cookie crumbs that decorated it, Hordak caught a light whiff of the bitter scent of almond. This fact confused him for some reason as he began to think upon the conversations he overheard during the party.

"For the last time, we're not regifting Perfuma's get well present," Adora told Catra as Hordak and Entrapta approached, "Besides, Frosta is allergic to nuts."

Hordak tried to push the thought from his mind as the cake was presented in front of Princess Frosta. Frosta's own chefs would clearly know about her allergies so perhaps it was some kind of almond substitute. He thought about what else would smell like almonds when another conversation popped back into his head.

"Enjoy the party, traitors," Glimmer read the threatening letter aloud to Double Trouble, "Rest assured you will all get your just desserts."

Frosta blew out the candles and was cut the ceremonial first slice of cake. Hordak's thoughts turned to panic as each of the princesses and their guests were handed a slice of cake.

"Stupid spoiled princess brats..." Hordak heard one of the chefs in the kitchen grumble under his breath, "They get to live it up all day every day of their lives while the rest of us slave over them and die in their pointless wars. Etheria is going to be so much better off without them."

As Frosta cut a bite of cake off with her fork, Hordak picked up his own dessert fork as he quickly got up from the table, and with a flick of his wrist, threw the utensil directly at Frosta. The other princess watched in horror as the fork spun through the air and collided handle-side first into Frosta's hand causing her to drop the cake back on the plate.

"Ow!" Frosta yelled, "Who threw that?!"

"No one touch the cake!" Hordak ordered, "It has been laced with Cyanide poisoning!"

As the crowd in the room collectively gasped and whispered to one another, Hordak scanned each of the chefs who had brought the cake in.

"You!" Hordak accused, pointing at the chef he thought looked the most nervous.

Without hesitation, the suspect ran from the proceedings, and through the nearest doorway.

~*~

The chef shuffled through the snow as he moved as fast as possible away from the castle.

"Gotta get away..." he gasped, "Can't let him catch me..."

He looked behind him to see if anyone was chasing him. It was difficult to see through the blizzard, but the man thought he saw two red dots in the distance.

"Oh, no," he wheezed, focusing back on the path ahead of him, "Oh, please, no..."

The ground below him soon darkened as the shadow of something very large passed over him. He was shaken off his feet as a gigantic chunk of ice landed in front of him with a crashing thump. The man frantically crawled away from it before two hands grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him with great distance into the ice shard. He was forcefully smacked against the hard flat surface before landing in the soft snow. Before he could get up, the same hands picked him up by his shirt and slammed him up against the wall, a muscular bicep pinning him by the throat. The man looked in terror at the blonde woman in the red dress holding him in place.

"Why did you do this?" Adora interrogated, "Who do you work for?"

"I didn't do anything," the chef answered quickly, "I've been a loyal servant to the royal family for years."

"Then why did you run?" Adora shouted angrily.

"The scary bat man pointed at me!" he said, "Wouldn't you?!"

"I only have one rule," Adora said, "Why did you try to poison Princess Frosta?"

"I didn't try to poison anyone!" the man whined, "I am so sorry I broke your one rule, scary muscle girl."

Adora let go of the chef, allowing him to slide back into the snow. He cradled his throat as he gasped for air.

"Glimmer will soon be here with a truth telling spell," Adora explained, "We'll know what really happened soon enough."

"Okay," the man wheezed, "I'll do whatever you want. Just please don't hurt me again."

"Good, just stay there until they catch up," Adora said as sat down in the snow to catch her breath.

The chef closed his eyes and lay back against the chunk of ice that appeared to be once part of Frosta's castle wall. He breathed a sigh of relief before a metal gauntlet grabbed him by the throat and slammed him back against the ice wall.

"Why did you do this?" Hordak snarled, "Who do you work for?"

"Oh, nohoho," the man whimpered, tears streaming from his eyes, "Please, stahahop!"

"No, Hordak, stop!" Adora shouted, "He might not be our guy! We're waiting for Glimmer!"

Hordak looked back at Adora and raised an eyebrow at her.

"As you wish," he growled, dropping the crying mess of a man back in the snow.

"I just mahahake sushi rohoholls..." the man cried.

Adora crossed her arms as the two of them stood above the terrified, possibly innocent man they accused.

"You must be cold," Hordak noted, removing his blue jacket, "Here, take this."

"I'm fine, thank you," Adora said, shivering slightly.

"I insist," Hordak said, handing the jacket to Adora, "I will carry him back to the castle."

Hordak lifted the chef off the snowy ground and flopped him over his shoulder. All the man could do was weep into the back of the clone's white dress shirt. Adora wrapped the large coat over herself like a parka and followed.

"One thing I want to know," Adora demanded, "Where did you learn to throw a fork like that?"

"I do not know," Hordak answered, "It just came naturally to me for some reason. Where did you learn to break off and throw a metric ton of solid ice?"

"I... don't know," Adora lied.

The two stomped slowly in silence in the blizzard towards the castle before Hordak spoke up again.

"I had another question," Hordak said, "Regarding your relationship with my former Force Captain."

"Ugggh," Adora groaned, "Go ahead."

Hordak was silent for a few moments as he thought pensively about the most sensitive way to approach this topic.

"Her?" was all he managed to come up with.

~*~

Queen Glimmer and Catra silently watched the snow through the large double doors of the entrance hall while, inside the coat check behind them, Entrapta was digging through her coat pockets for chemistry equipment. Her hair was holding her plate which has her slice of cake still on it, until eventually she found some test tubes and a vial of liquid. Her hair collected a piece of the slice into the test tube before pouring the liquid inside. She stroked her chin as she watched her hair put a stopper in the test tube and carefully shook it. She examined the test tube carefully as the cake dissolved into the liquid and changed its color.

"Sample is positive for Potassium Cyanide," Entrapta reported into her recording device, "Hordak was right. Someone poisoned the cake."

"If that's the case," Glimmer said, "Then someone just tried to kill all the princesses in Etheria at once."

"If that's the case," Catra said, "Then Hordak... freaking Hordak of all people... just saved all of Etheria. I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"Is that really what you're concerned about right now?" Glimmer scolded, "I just cast a truth spell on everyone left in the castle who had access to the kitchen when the cake was being made. If Adora doesn't catch the real poisoner, then that means we still have an assassin loose in the Kingdom."

"Well, why didn't you go after him?" Catra noted, "Don't your teleporting powers make you the fastest one here?"

"Gah!" Glimmer screamed angrily at Catra before she disappeared in a puff of sparkles.

"Did she forget she can do that?" Entrapta asked.

"I don't know if you've noticed," Catra explained, "But princesses can be kinda dumb sometimes."

The two waited patiently for their hero's return. After a few moments, Glimmer, Adora and Hordak carrying a short weeping man on his shoulder soon appeared, hand in hand, in a cloud of pink sparkles.

"It's not him either," Glimmer reported, pacing towards the main hall with her fists clenched, "So either I've suddenly gotten really sloppy with my spells or the real assassin left long before the cake even came out. Yeeeaaarrrggghhh!"

Hordak carefully placed the shivering man he was carrying in a standing position on the castle floor and brushed some snow off of his shoulders. As soon as Hordak turned his attention away from him, the chef ran screaming into another hallway.

"Good news, Hordak!" Entrapta shouted as she ran frantically at him to show off her test tube, "There *was* cyanide in the cake! Someone just tried to poison us all! And we don't know who they are or where they went!"

"How is any of that good news?" Hordak grumbled.

"Becaaause..." Entrapta said, "You just saved everyone's life. You're a hero."

"I think you might be overstating my contribution to tonight's events," Hordak said, "I only did what any responsible citizen would do in my position."

"And I think you're just underestimating yourself," Entrapta said, "Come on! Frosta's opening presents in the main hall and I think ours requires some explanation."

"Very well, but after that we are going home," Hordak ordered, "It has been a long night... for both of us."

"I know," Entrapta said, "Isn't it great? We got to dance, talk to all our friends, have dinner. I even got to break out my chemistry set. Thank you so much for coming Hordak!"

Once again, Entrapta lifted herself off the ground to kiss her date. Only this time, Hordak was fast enough to meet Entrapta's lips with his own.

"You go on ahead," Hordak suggested, "I'll be right behind you."

As Entratpa giggled as she lifted her dress to run back into the ballroom, Adora folded up Hordak's jacket and handed it back to him.

"So how *did* you know the cake was poisoned?" Adora asked.

"Cyanide has the smell of bitter almonds," Hordak explained, "And I overheard you say Frosta had a nut allergy."

"Frosta isn't allergic to almonds," Adora replied, "That was just a lie to make Catra not give her a jar of cashews and dried fruit for her birthday."

"I knew it!" Catra screamed at Adora.

"So if I am to understand this correctly," Hordak theorized, "We all almost died here tonight, only to be saved by the sheer dumb luck of you trying to compensate for Catra just being absolutely terrible person."

"It wouldn't be the first time..." grumbled Adora.


	30. Double Trouble, Session 1

Double Trouble stumbled as they groggily got out of bed. They looked around their mess of a bedroom and nearly tripped over a bottle of liquor left on the floor. Angrily, they picked it up and threw it at the wall, smashing it to pieces and splashing it's liquid into a smear on the wall itself.

"Yeah, that's right," Double Trouble grumbled to themself, "It's the bottle's fault you screwed everything up, you idiot."

Double Trouble wearily walked over to the washroom to get ready for work, carefully stepping around the shards of glass on the floor. They opened the door to the bathroom and went over to turn on the sink. Splashing water on their face, they looked in the mirror to see a disheveled, hungover green face staring back at them. They closed their eyes, took in a deep breath and when they opened them, they saw the handsome face of a tall strong woman with short white hair and giant red claws staring back at them.

"So... bright side about what happened," Scorpia told them, "You finally got me to stand up for myself and I've learned to cut myself off from toxic relationships now."

Scorpia scratched the back of their head with their claw.

"It's probably for the best we ended this before things got too serious," Scorpia thought aloud, "I mean, it's not like there was any chance of this working out in the first place. I'm sweet, kind and brave and you're just... none of those things. Best to break it off now before someone got hurt."

Scorpia sighed as they closed their eyes and leaned against their claws against the sink.

"Too late for that, I guess," Scorpia said solemnly, before immediately brightening up again, "But hey, I can spring back from this. I'm awesome. I've got plenty of friends who love and support me now and you... well... you never needed anyone else before, right? You're a survivor, like Catra, like Shadow Weaver, like Hordak. You'll get through this the same way you always do. Alone!"

Scorpia shrugged their shoulders.

"And who knows?" Scorpia said optimistically, "In a year or two, we'll all probably look back at this as just one of those funny things that happened. Maybe after we spend some time apart, I can learn to forgive you and we can at least be friends again. Wouldn't that be great?!"

Scorpia's expression slowly drooped into a contemptuous glare.

"Yeah, I didn't think that was very convincing, either," admitted Scorpia, "I hope you die."

And then, as they turned away from the mirror to leave the bathroom, Scorpia transformed back into Double Trouble.

"I hope so, too, Princess," Double Trouble told themself, "I hope so, too."

Double Trouble then got dressed, organized their things, and left to go to work.

~*~

DT's Notes

Double Trouble, Session 1  
-Subject shows complete disregard of the consequences of their actions  
-Has shown to be perfectly willing to lie, exploit and manipulate others for their own personal pleasure and financial gain  
-Has failed repeatedly to consider other people's feelings or learn from their own mistakes  
-Suffers from the delusion that anything they do can actually help people  
-Classic case of Antisocial Personality Disorder, coupled with alcohol addiction, social anxiety and suicidal depression.  
-Recommend subject be separated from the rest of society as soon as possible where they can no longer be allowed to harm themselves or others


	31. Hordak, Session 5

Double Trouble groaned as they unlocked and opened the door to their office. They failed to see their client in the waiting area and had hoped to spend a few minutes to relax waiting for him to arrive. They did not expect to see his back to the door as he stared deeply at the Etherian mural of the Brightmoon wall of their office.

"Hordak?" Double Trouble said, "How did you get in here?"

The figure turned around and raised an eyebrow at the therapist. Although he had Hordak's exact face, shape and build, this was clearly another clone. His skin was bleached a dark blue compared to Hordak's pale grey which provided a pleasant contrast to his pure white military uniform. At first glance, this clone had one more thing in common with Hordak, whereas most Horde clones' eyes glowed a dull green, this one's eyes glowed a solid bright red. But as Double Trouble stared into his eyes in shock, they saw them not as passionate and lively as Hordak's, but cold and calculating. Double Trouble felt these eyes see right through them, analyzing every movement and expression they made.

"Forgive my intrusion," the clone said finally, his voice barely above a whisper, "I had hoped to oversee my brother's... psychiatric inspection for today."

"I'm sorry," Double Trouble said, "Unfortunately, I cannot breach my patients' confidentiality."

"I am sure Alpha Kappa One Three One Four Five will not mind," the clone insisted, a calm smile complimenting his even tone, "While we wait for him perhaps you would indulge my curiosity of a more... historical matter."

"Historical?" Double Trouble repeated.

"Tell me," the clone ordered, pointing at the mural he was examining, "What do you know of this figure here?"

"That is King Micah of Brightmoon," Double Trouble explained, "Top of his class in the Academy on Mysticore, seduced and married the Princess Angella of Brightmoon, Led the first Princess Alliance against the Horde before he was killed in battle against Hordak. His Daughter, Queen Glimmer, continued leading the rebellion in his stead until she surrendered Brightmoon to Horde Prime, convincing the other princesses to do the same."

"Killed, you say," the clone coldly observed, turning to look at the therapist, "And yet... there are reports that this same King of Brightmoon is the one leading the new resistance against both the Horde and the Princesses of Etheria."

"I wouldn't know much about that," Double Trouble lied.

"No, I suppose not," the clone admitted, returning his focus to the mural, "But what art a people make of their king says something about both the king and his people, don't you agree?"

"I suppose," Double Trouble said curtly.

"I consider myself something an artist," the clone explained, "A love I believe inherited from my emperor. I suspect that is something you have in common. The only difference being your canvas is the stage, whilst mine is on the battlefield. When I look at the figure Brightmoon paints of this man, I get the sense of someone who is confident in his power and ability and takes great pleasure in showing it off, not to intimidate, but to entertain. Like a trickster god of myth. But on a closer examination there is also this... hesitation, a fear of losing control of that power. I feel as if I have fought this man before, or at least, someone very much like him."

"Theta Rho," came a similar but more gruff voice from the doorway, "What business do you have on Etheria? I am to understand that you are supposed to be overseeing the invasion of Primus."

Double Trouble and the clone turned to the doorway to see Hordak standing before them, green eyes staring at mild irritation at the new clone.

"Brother, it is good to see you again after all these long decades," Horde Unit Theta Rho greeted, "The siege of Primus has achieved something of a stalemate. Our allies on Denebria are unable to penetrate their planetary shields."

"Oh, no..." Hordak groaned, "Please do not tell me you left Keldor in charge."

"Our Eternian Advisor on Magical Phenomena is... sufficient to command our forces in my absence," Theta Rho assured Hordak, "I should inform you he has taken a new name for himself after what happened to his face. He still blames you for that, you know."

"I prefer to see myself as the reason he is still alive to whine about it," Hordak explained, "What happened to Keldor was his own pathetic failure. I highly doubt in his ability to succeed where a Horde officer like you could not."

"That is why our Emperor has seen fit to recall me to oversee completion of the Heart of Etheria project," Theta Rho replied, "It appears *you* have inadvertently found the solution to our problems. I must admit I am touched by your opinion of my abilities and that you have taken such an interest in my movements."

"The current location of the Horde's top general should be basic information all Horde units must know," answered Hordak, "We do not require your assistance. The Princess Entrapta is more than capable of completing the project. She has more experience with the Etherian First Ones technology than any other member of the Horde."

"Horde Prime insists on my presence on this planet," stated Theta Rho, "But there are other projects on this world that would be more appropriate to my skillset. Correcting your failure to make this population into a functional, obedient colony, for instance. I do not expect it would take long for me to ferret out this rebellion you have allowed to build on this planet for so long. After all, it would be the least I could do after you allowed me have this position in the first place. Had you not so... thoroughly bungled your tenure at our Emperor's side, I would not have had the opportunity to prove my worth to him."

Theta Rho paused to gauge Hordak's reaction, only to be met with a simple grunt.

"And now I see you have become a scientist," Theta Rho continued, "Working under an Etherian Princess no less."

"You do not approve," Hordak translated.

"Oh, no, Brother, you misjudge me," Theta Rho scoffed, "I am most pleased our Emperor, in his wisdom, has managed to find *some* use for you. That is why I had hoped to sit in on your mental examination by this... creature."

The Horde General motioned towards Double Trouble. They did their best to hide their increasing discomfort of being stuck between in Theta Rho's uneasy presence and Hordak's judgemental glare.

"Unfortunately, a new development has come up that requires me to cancel today's session," Hordak reported, "I had only come to personally inform my therapist of the situation. Perhaps another time, Brother."

Theta Rho's lips drooped slightly as he raised another eyebrow at his brother.

"Very well, then, Brother..." Theta Rho said, attempting to mask his disappointment, "Perhaps another time."

As Theta Rho passed his brother to leave, he stopped to examine his armor closely.

"I assume the Princess is responsible for your new... mobility equipment," Theta Rho commented.

"That is correct, Brother," Hordak affirmed, "In her studies on the Etherian First Ones, Entrapta has managed to develop technologies far in advance of even our own scientists."

"Fascinating," Theta Rho observed, pointing at the glowing purple gemstone that was engraved on to his chestplate, "Tell me, Brother, do you know what these symbols mean?"

"I'm afraid not," Hordak answered, "The First Ones hieroglyphs are immaterial to our work, so I have not expended the effort to learn their language."

"Immaterial? Oh, I must disagree," Theta Rho argued, "I have only managed to study a small modicum of Etherian culture and the First One's language on my way to this planet and have already found it most... enlightening."

Hordak gave a quizzical look to his brother as Theta Rho chuckled under his breath.

"Learn about Art, Brother," said Theta Rho, patting his brother on the shoulder, "That is an order from your General. When you understand a people's art, you understand the people. Only then can you truly conquer them."

As Theta Rho finally left the office, Hordak returned his attention to Double Trouble.

"I regret to inform you I will not be attending today's session," Hordak stated officially.

"You could have just left a message," Double Trouble suggested.

"Yes," Hordak said, a small smile creeping across his lips, "I could have."

~*~

DT's notes

Hordak, Session 4  
-So I met Hordak's even creepier brother today.  
-Of course he's this super pretentious art critic snob. I just haaate these guys!  
-Remember to ask Hordak about his history with this Keldor fellow  
-Took over Hordak's old job after he got fired, and it looks like there's still some bad blood there  
-Apparently, he finds something really amusing about the crystal on Hordak's suit  
-Why do I get the feeling this guy is about to become a real thrawn in my side?  
-Uggh, I cannot write properly today...


	32. Catra, Session 5

Catra set down her coffee on the park bench as she began her day filling out tedious paperwork. It was one of the responsibilities of command she hated the most, but somehow learned to be good at in her time serving as Hordak's number two officer. She appreciated how much quieter the Brightmoon Gardens were compared to the Fright Zone canteen and barracks. The birds were just as annoying here as anywhere else in the kingdom, but, for the most part, they learned to keep their distance after the last time one of them flew too close to her. Catra was shaken from her thoughts by a beige saddlebag landing on her bench.

"Hello, Kitten," greeted Double Trouble, holding a thermos of coffee, "Mind if I joined you?"

Catra shrugged her shoulders.

"It's a free kingdom," Catra scoffed, "Despite everything Adora's been whining about..."

"Excellent," said Double Trouble, slickly sliding next to her and wrapping their arm over the bench behind Catra's back, "So... how have things been going?"

"Right now having to write a report for Horde Prime regarding what happened at the Frosta's birthday party," Catra explained as she looked over her own notes, "Not looking forward to explaining the major security breach that almost cost him his planet killer. If I don't find a head for the Horde to put up on a pike soon, they'll probably just settle for mine."

"Yikes," hissed Double Trouble, "Well, good luck with that."

"Yeah, thanks," groaned Catra, "But don't you have your own job to worry about right now?"

"Oh, yes. My client cancelled at the last minute," Double Trouble explained, "So I thought I'd take this free time to find you and try to catch up. Speaking of which, I noticed you've been cancelling quite a few of my sessions for the last little while."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Catra said, barely paying attention as she filled out her forms, "I don't know if you've noticed, but things have gotten kind of hectic around here."

"Sounds like all the more reason to continue our sessions," Double Trouble replied, "I know things can't have been easy since your injury."

"What are you talking abou-" Catra began, before remembering she's supposed to be deaf in one ear, "Oh, right. Yeah, things have been bad, but you get used to it."

"Well, you're certainly no stranger to adaptation," Double Trouble complimented, "As I hear, it wasn't too long ago you were riding in a tank trying to blow this whole castle to kingdom come."

"The Great Conquest of Etheria..." Catra chuckled, gesturing to the beautiful garden in front of them, "So why doesn't it feel like we won?"

"I don't know," Double Trouble answered, "Do you feel unsatisfied with your current situation?"

"I mean, I have everything I ever wanted," Catra said, "Even the stuff I didn't think I'd ever get in a million years. I'm literally ruling Etheria with Adora at my side. I'm in the one in charge for a change. I can order Hordak and the Princesses to do whatever I want and they just have to stand there and take it. But if I don't get this stupid superweapon to work like I promised, Horde Prime is going to destroy the entire planet and take all that away from me. Back when I was a cadet, I didn't even have a soldier at my command, but it felt like I could do whatever I wanted. Now I have all the power in Etheria, and no choice at all..."

"That sounds like a lot of pressure to put on one person," Double Trouble said, "How have you been delegating these responsibilities?"

"Well, Hordak and Entrapta are in She-Ra's crystal castle trying to figure out how the whole thing works," Catra listed, "But I can't make heads or tails of the reports they've been sending back. And I can never just get a straight answer out of either of them when I ask them directly to explain what they're doing there. Mermista and Scorpia want to figure out who tried to poison us all last night, so I'm letting them play detective, but I don't expect much. Our lovely Queen Sparkles hasn't told me anything about how she plans to fight the bandits that have been attacking our trade caravans. She tells me it's because it's all 'need to know' to prevent security leaks but I'm guessing the real reason is because she's been sleeping with the person who matches the description of the guy leading the attackings."

"Oh, my," Double Trouble gasped, "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"Adora told me not to..." Catra sighed, "And I'm really finding it hard to say no to her after everything that's happened between us. She really doesn't like the idea of destroying another planet to save our own, but she doesn't know what else to do, so she takes it out on me. She cares so much for people she will never even meet and who for all intents and purposes didn't even exist to us before Horde Prime showed up. It ticks me off, but the more we argue about it, the more I can't deny she has a point. That, even if we do everything the Horde tells us to, they're just going to kill us all anyway. I can't shake this feeling that she's starting to rub off on me and that scares me right now."

"Because of that whole fleet of spaceships above us?" Double Trouble guessed.

"Part of me wants to just get this done because I want what I have right now to last as long as possible," Catra explained, "But another part thinks this is going to all come crashing down before too long anyway, so I might as well just enjoy myself as much as I can before we all die horribly."

"Honestly, I don't think I can argue with that," Double Trouble said, leaning back to look up, the bright blue sky and white clouds masking the hundreds of ships they knew were still in orbit.

As Catra got back to work on her report, a small yellow bird landed on Double Trouble's knee and tweeted cheerily to them.

"Awww, hello there," Double Trouble cooed, holding out a finger it to perch on, "Aren't you a little sweetie pie?"

"So..." Catra called out, pointing at the bird, "Are you going to eat that?"

"Eat what?" Double Trouble asked without really paying attention.

Taking their confusion to mean permission, Catra swiftly snatched the tiny creature with her sharp claws, killing it instantly. She shoved the bloody mess of beak and feathers into her mouth and could be heard chewing on the tiny hollow bones for a few seconds before swallowing. Catra then washed her meal down with a swig of coffee and took out a handkerchief to crudely wipe the blood and spilled hot liquid off her fur.

"Sorry," apologized Catra after burping out some yellow feathers, "I skipped breakfast today."

Double Trouble said nothing as they stared silently in shock at the vicious killing they just witnessed.

"What?" Catra exclaimed.

"Oh... nothing, Kitten," Double Trouble finally said, forcing a smile as they gathered their things, "I should get ready for my next appointment. It was nice talking to you again."

"So, when am I going to be seeing the bill for this little talk?" Catra inquired.

"Oh, no, this wasn't an official session," Double Trouble clarified, patting Catra on the lap, "I just wanted to catch up with an old friend."

"Is that what we are?" asked Catra, "Friends?"

"Of course," Double Trouble answered, "Why wouldn't we be?"

"It's just that..." Catra said, "Ever since we first met, it seemed like the only thing you cared about me was my money and my position."

"Just because I was ethical about being properly paid for my labor doesn't mean I didn't like working with you," explained Double Trouble, "I thought we got along quite well ever since I joined up with the Horde."

"I guess," Catra said, "But it felt cold, whenever we were together. Like you didn't really like me, but just tolerated being near me to get paid."

"Oh, Kitten, of course I like you," Double Trouble said, tenderly stroking the fur on Catra's cheek, "You were the Horde's best force captain when I met you. By the end of the war, you were running the Horde. You didn't need another sycophantic yes girl to sing your praises. You needed someone to call you out on your mistakes, to treat you like someone smart and strong enough to handle some heavy criticism. Because you didn't deserve to be treated like a child anymore."

Instinctively, Catra reached behind Double Trouble's head to pull them into a kiss. Double Trouble gagged on the taste of blood and coffee and immediately pushed her back forcefully against the bench. Both of them examined each other silently as they processed what just happened.

"What was that?!" shouted Double Trouble in humiliated anger.

"I'm sorry!" screamed Catra in a panic, "I thought you were giving me signals!"

"No, no, I was just trying to make you feel better about yourself," Double Trouble quickly stammered, eyes wide in shock, "I'm sorry... I... I have to go."

"Wait!" Catra ordered, grabbing Double Trouble's hand, "Whatever you do, please don't tell Adora about this!"

"I'm not stupid enough to get on the She-Ra's bad side for no reason," Double Trouble argued, "What happened was just a misunderstanding, nothing more."

"I mean it," Catra threatened, pointing her clawed finger at Double Trouble's chest, "You know how I feel about you. But if Adora finds out, she will figuratively kill me, but not before I literally kill you. Got it!"

"I got it!" Double Trouble growled in frustration, "Don't worry. No one else is going to know what happened."

"Good..." Catra said, folding her arms and looking away in embarrassment, "Because nothing happened."

"That's right!" agreed Double Trouble in an argumentative tone as they speed walked away, "Nothing happened!"

~*~

DT's Notes

Catra, Session 5  
-Well, what do I do now? I really don't think I should be alone right now.  
-I'll see if Catra is hanging around her usual spot, I haven't talked to her in ages.  
-Talked about how she is handling her recovery, seems to have gotten used to it  
-Feels unsatisfied with her current position, constrained and fearful of what she has to lose  
-Claims Adora's compassion is starting to rub off on her, I'm going to take this as a good sign despite Catra's misgivings  
-Feelings of hopelessness has Catra considering Nihilism, which I can definitely relate to right now  
-We really need to talk to Catra about respecting other people's personal space  
-And to top it all off, she is a really bad kisser


	33. Seahawke, Lesson 1

"For he himself hath said it," sang Seahawke proudly, "And it's greatly to his credit! That he is an Etherrriaaan, He remains an Eeeheethehearearer-REEEEE-YAAAAN! I am, I am!"

Seahawke gave a large bow from his position standing on top of Double Trouble's couch and smiled at the sound of their polite golf clap.

"Thank you! Thank you," cheered Seahawke before he quickly leapt into a lying position on the couch, "So how would you describe my stunning performance?"

"Well... stunning is a word I could use," Double Trouble critiqued, "I must admit that when I asked you to bring a monologue to try out today, I definitely didn't expect to see a one man rendition of the entire score from the HMS Manticore. And you certainly have skill when it comes to singing. I just wonder if may not have been... challenging enough for your ability to get into character. You wanted me to teach you what it takes to be an actor after all."

"Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm," hummed Seahawke as he nodded in interest.

"Tell me," demanded Double Trouble, "Are there any characters in any kind of fiction you wanted to try out?"

"Well, you've sort of put me on the spot with that one," Seahawke said, stroking his chin in thought, "Perhaps I could do a number from the Pirates of Plumeria for you?"

"No more singing!" ordered Double Trouble in a panic, taking Seahawke by surprise.

Double Trouble closed their eyes and took in a deep breath to calm down.

"I'm sorry, what I meant to say was we need to move on to something different in order to get a better idea of what you're capable of right now," Double Trouble explained, "How about we try some impressions? Any friends or family that you know well enough that you want to try impersonating?"

Seahawke pointed his finger upward and opened his mouth to speak.

"Apart from Mermista," Double Trouble added.

Seahawke closed his mouth, curled his finger and frowned in disappointment.

"Well..." Seahawke thought aloud, "The Princess Scorpia and I have been swapping old war stories as of late. Don't tell the other princesses but we sort of became pen pals after this one time her, me and Adora were stuck inside a habitation dome in the middle of the frozen wastes of the Northern reach. Just two old soldiers from opposite sides of the war and our own young hero who was flying high as a kite on... something. Adora never did tell me what it was she took to make her so loopy."

"Okay, fine..." Double Trouble interjected with a hint of frustration, "Scorpia will do. Now I take it you've been reading the Mer-Mysteries series? What's the last book you've read?"

"Oh, well..." Seahawke recollected, "I'm just in the middle of re-reading 'The Heartbroken Dolphin' for, what is it? The seventh time... I think... I like parts concerning the Bosun's secret affair with the Pirate Captain."

"Okay..." Double Trouble said as they dug out their own copy of the relevant book from their bag, "Yesss, I can work with this. I'm going to do a scene with you, I'll play the Captain and you play the Bosun but as Scorpia. Does that make sense to you?"

"So I'll be saying the Bosun's lines..." Seahawke translated, "But as if it was Scorpia saying them."

"Precisely," Double Trouble said, thumbing through the book quickly before giving it to Seahawke, "Here we go. We'll start at page 109, from 'How did you get onboard?'. Whenever you are ready."

"So..." Seahawke said nervously, "I just read the lines as I think Scorpia would."

"That's right," Double Trouble clarified.

"And you're going to be the Pirate Captain..." Seahawke continued, reading over his lines, "But *who* are you going to be?"

"Well, Captain Hunter..." Double Trouble answered, "Who else?"

"It's just..." Seahawke stuttered, "I think it might be easier for me to get into character if I had a better idea who Scorpia would be talking to."

"Okay... how about..." Double Trouble thought aloud as they began transforming, "Catra?"

"Ah, yes, that makes sense!" Seahawke said, quickly regaining his usual confidence, "So I'll just begin then?"

"Whenever you're ready," Catra encouraged.

Seahawke cleared his throat, closed the book, and passed it back to Catra.

"Oh, my stars," Seahawke exclaimed, "Captain Hunter, however did you manage to get aboard my ship, perchance?"

"Okay, Seahawke," said Catra, "Just need to pause right there. I want you to say the lines how you think Scorpia would say them."

"But I'm going by precisely what it says in the book," Seahawke argued.

"Exactly, and that's the problem," Catra explained, "Do you think Scorpia would ever say 'perchance'? Or 'oh, my stars'? Or 'however did you manage'?"

"She would if she was playing the Bosun in a play," Seahawke retorted.

"But not if she *was* the Bosun," Catra shot back, "You don't have to go word for word what it says in the book. I don't want to see how well you memorize lines. I want to see how you feel the character your playing."

"Okay, I think I've got it," said Seahawke, closing his eyes and taking in another deep breath, "Did you want me to try again?"

"Yes, from the beginning," Catra instructed, opening the book in front of them, "Whenever you are ready."

Seahawke cleared his throat again and opened his eyes.

"Good Morning, Inspector Pour Row," Seahawke began, getting up from the couch to greet an invisible person, "Allow me to be the first to welcome you aboard our fine vessel. Captain Flotsam should be here any moment. We'll begin our tour below decks in the tummy of the ship. Let me know if this gets too technical for you."

"I meant from page 109," Catra interrupted, "Where we started last time."

"Ah, of course," Seahawke realized, "How silly of me. Ahem. Oh, my. Captain Hunter, how did you get aboard?"

"A scoundrel always has her ways, my dear," Catra answered in a sultry voice, reading aloud from the book, "So, where did you hide that stupid jewel? Is it still here somewhere?"

"Yes, well, funny story about that," Seahawke replied, cupping his fingers into false claws to scratch the back of his head, "So I sneak into the Captain's Quarters to steal the jewel from the safe like we both planned, when what do I find, but the Captain's dead body just lying at his desk. So now the Quarters is this big crime scene, which is a whole deal now until this Inspector guy finds out who did it. Say you didn't kill him, did you? Because that kinda ruins the whole plan if you did."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Catra whispered coyly as they approached Seahawke on the couch, "What's the matter? You knew what I was when we started this."

"I mean, I know you kill people for money," Seahawke answered, "That's what pirates do. But I thought you would be smart enough not to put us both in danger of being caught."

"I'm just messing with you," Catra teased, leaning over Seahawke to play with his mustache, "Besides, I thought you liked danger."

"Only when there's a reward that's worth the risk," Seahawke argued, pulling Catra on top of him on the couch, "So just to be clear you didn't kill the captain, right?"

"Pause!" ordered Catra sternly, flipping through the pages ahead as they straddled around Seahawke's waist like a mounted horse, "So it looks like the scene gets a little intimate here, so feel free to let me know if any of this gets too uncomfortable for you at any point, okay? We can adjust it however you want."

"Oh, of course!" Seahawke replied enthusiastically, holding onto Catra's own waist to keep them balanced on top of him, "Don't worry about me, though. I think I'm really starting to get the hang of this!"

"Good," said Catra, closing the book and tossing it behind them, "Just wanted to make sure we were all clear on how you felt about this. We can continue whenever your ready."

"Quite alright," Seahawke affirmed, , "So you didn't kill the captain, right?"

"Of course not," Catra giggled, lowering themself onto Seahawke's body, "But if I can't have the Heartbroken Dolphin tonight, maybe I'll just take you instead."

As Catra slowly drew their face closer to his, Seahawke tilted his head and reached up to lock his lips over theirs. The two actors closed their eyes while moaning playfully into each other's mouths before Catra lifted themself up slightly to breathe. After taking a momentary break, Catra laid back down on Seahawke to continue their makeout session.

"Be careful there, my brave... erm..." Seahawke warned, losing his focus on the drama teacher who was currently nibbling at his neck, "Uh, Line?"

"Wildcat..." Catra gasped between kisses, "Scorpia calls Catra 'Wildcat'."

"Be careful there, Wildcat," Seahawke repeated, cuddling up against his furry partner, "Don't forget there's still a murderer onboard. What would happen if someone saw you in my room? I mean, the Inspector could pop in at any second and shout-"

The session was interrupted by a loud bang as a Mermaid Princess wearing a trenchcoat and fedora burst through the office door and pointed a magnifying glass accusingly at the two actors making out on the couch.

"Nobody move!" Mermista shouted, a crack of thunder punctuating her entrance, "I've caught you red-handed!"

"Mermista!" Catra cried out in shock, reflexively turning back into Double Trouble, "I wasn't expecting you here so early! This isn't what it looks like!"

"Sure, it is!" Seahawke affirmed confidently, lifting Double Trouble off himself to stand up from the couch, "That is to say, it looks like we were doing very well in our very first scene together, right my sweet lillypad?"

"Look, I'm not here to talk about your drama lessons, Seahawke," Mermista explained, "Although I'm happy to see I'm not completely wasting my money on this new fad of yours. But no, I'm here to solve the mer-mystery of who put poison in Frosta's birthday cake! You!"

Another crack of thunder shook the room as Mermista pointed menacingly at Double Trouble.

"Me?" Double Trouble gulped, pointed at themself nervously.

"Tell me everything you did on the night of the murder," Mermista ordered.

~*~

DT's Notes

Seahawke, Lesson 1  
-Asked Seahawke to bring a monologue to read today, so I'd have a better idea of what skill level he's at  
-I don't think Seahawke has fully understands what a monologue actually is  
-Had to improvise to salvage this session, fortunately I was able to exploit our common interest in trashy romance novels  
-Romantic scenes and musicals definitely play to Seahawke's strengths  
-I may have gotten a little too into character to remain professionally objective... or not in character enough?  
-Well, hopefully Seahawke got as much out of this experience as I did  
-So I may have a thing for naively optimistic romantics with dependency issues


	34. Mermista's Journal, Day 1

Someone tried to poison all the princesses in Etheria last night. It was a dark night, a bad night, the kind of night children hide under their covers from. Blistering cold fog as far as the eye can see. And there we were, all alone, snug in our castle of solid ice, having fun without a care about what was going on outside, we were literally on top of the world on that snowy mountain peak.

"Sorry, Mermista," Scorpia interrupted, "Are you talking to me right now?"

No, Scorpia... I'm just... I'm trying to get what happened last night straight in my head.

"Ah, gotcha," replied Scorpia, "Is that why you're wearing that hat? I don't think I've ever seen it before."

...the hat helps me think.

"Oh, okay," Scorpia said, "...can I have a hat, too?"

Only if you get it yourself, I only have the one hat. Anyways... it was a bad night and it was just us princesses alone in the castle. The perfect moment for an assassin to strike. The question was... how did they get in? How did they get out? And who would want to poison all the princesses of Etheria in the first place?

"Well, we all became pretty unpopular after the whole surrendering our forces to Horde Prime thing happened," Scorpia explained, "So really, it could have been anyone."

The big lug beside me with the crushing claws and barbed tail was Scorpia, the Princess of Horror Hall. Wanted to help out with the investigation to take her mind off her recent troubles. Bad breakup as I hear. Didn't want to talk about it and I didn't want to ask.

"You know, if you want me to leave you just have to tell me," Scorpia commented, "I'd appreciate you not bringing up my personal life for everyone to hear."

Sorry... Where was I? Queen Glimmer used a truth telling spell to get a confession from each of the kitchen staff. No one was guilty or knew anything about how the sugar in Princess Frosta's big birthday cake was replaced with two cups of Potassium Cyanide. Which means the suspect had to be someone else with access to the royal kitchens that wouldn't have been out of place. Possibly a guest of the princesses or even a princess herself.

"Or someone who just put on a chef hat and snuck in," Scorpia guessed, "But now that I think of it, Potassium Cyanide is normally used by the Horde's intelligence agents and high ranking officers as a last resort in case they get captured by enemy combatants. You don't think a former Horde member could have poisoned the cake, do you?"

Scorpia had good instincts. That explains why Hordak was able to so quickly recognize the smell of poison on the cake. There were at least 5 former members of Hordak's horde at the party, including Hordak himself. It wasn't much, but it gave us a list of suspects to start eliminating. Hordak, Entrapta, Adora, Catra, Double Trouble.

"And... uhh... well... me," Scorpia pointed out.

And Scorpia. We needed to get everyone on record about what they did that night. Might as well start with the kitty at the top.

~*~

"I told you already," Catra groaned, a small circular silhouette of light separating her from the rest of the dark room, "Me and Adora were together the entire night until Hordak told everyone about the poison. We didn't go anywhere near the kitchens or the cake before it came out."

Maybe they didn't... but maybe Catra and Adora we're covering for each other. Poison the other princesses so they could both escape and run off together in some far off land to hide and elope, away from the Horde, away from their responsibilities.

"What are you even talking about?" Catra screamed, "I have everything to lose right now! Just the fact that this happened at all has put my head is on the chopping block for Horde Prime. And do you really think someone like Adora would bother with something like poison? She's not the type to backstab someone, she'll stab you in the gut and tell you it's for your own good."

Hate to say it but the kitty had a point. MO didn't fit with Adora's background. Fit Catra's, but motive was sketchy. It was time to move on.

"And put my lamp back on my desk," Catra ordered as I turned to leave, "Seriously, are you trying to make me blind as well as deaf?"

Me and Catra had some bad blood between us. She burned down my house, I took it out on her pretty little skull. Just because we had to work together doesn't mean I had to like it. Whatever happened between us, I was getting nowhere fast talking to her, so I went to check up on my partner in the other room to see if she had any better luck with the other suspect.

"...and that's when, no joke, we finally found her sleeping in a empty storage crate," Adora was in the middle of telling Scorpia, "Apparently, she's just been sneaking off to take naps during her shift. Shadow Weaver was pissed when she found out. Refused to sleep anywhere else for a week."

"Hahaha, oh wow," laughed Scorpia, "Did you know she kept the box, right? Made me move it into her new room after the big promotion. Sometimes I'd sneak by her door after hours to see her lying in there some times after a really bad day."

"Yeah, that sounds like Catra alright..." chuckled Adora.

"So, it sounds like things are still going okay..." Scorpia noted, her tone becoming more serious, "...between you two, I mean."

"Uh, yeah," Adora answered, shuffling awkwardly, "I meant we fight all the time, but at least we're talking now. I'm so proud of the progress she's made since V-Day. After the Portal event, I had basically given up on her."

"Yeah..." Scorpia said wistfully, "Me too, to be honest..."

"I had my suspicions about Double Trouble ever since we caught them in Brightmoon," Adora continued, "But I can't thank them enough for everything they've done for us."

"Uh-huh, good for you, I guess..." Scorpia grumbled, her tone quickly becoming something very unlike Scorpia and very much like... well... me.

This whole visit was a dead end, but I think we can safely cross Adora and Catra off our list. But before we moved on to the next suspect, I wanted to get the facts straight from the woman who took the testimony from Princess Frosta's entire staff.

~*~

"Look, I don't know what to tell you," Glimmer frantically told the dangerous but alluring mermaid who was holding her head over a toilet bowl, "I even had Shadow Weaver double check my technique when I cast the truth spell the second time. Whoever poisoned the cake wasn't someone who normally worked for Frosta."

Did they tell you about anyone else who went near the kitchen? Any new faces they didn't recognize?

"Most of them didn't recognize each other," Glimmer answered woozily, her hands pushing against the toilet seat, "They normally work in separate shifts, but Frosta wanted a big team to cater the party for everyone that night."

"Are you guys done in there yet?" Scorpia called from outside, knocking against the door, "I don't wanna interrupt the investigation but I actually do have to go in there soon."

We've been at this for a while, your highness. My arm's starting to get tired. Give it up or I'm dropping you.

"I can't..." Glimmer stammered, wriggling in my grasp, "I..."

"Look, I can't hold it anymore," Scorpia said, "I'm coming in."

Come on, Sparkles, give me something. Anything.

"Sweet Hordak's Ghost!" Scorpia exclaimed as she entered, "What are you doing to her?"

Her Royal Majesty was asking for it. That is to say she was literally asking me to hold her over the toilet so her hair wouldn't get messy when she finally... ah, theeere we go. That's it. Just let it all out.

"Uggh..." groaned Glimmer as she went over to the sink to wash out her mouth, "Thanks again, Mermista... but please don't let anyone else know about this."

It was my royal duty. I've had my share of bad mornings after a rough night partying. Little Queen Bee must have gotten drunk at home to take the edge off from the stress last night. Explains the beer gut I felt around her waist. Scorpia took Glimmer's report as the two of them went to see the local tailor. That gave me time alone to have a little chat with the last suspect living in Brightmoon.

~*~

So, what do you have to say for yourself, mis... huh... What is the gender neutral term for Mister Missus? Is it Mister Missus? Master? Mixer? I'm gonna try Mixer, that sounds kinda cool. Alright, Mixer therapist, where were you on the night of the murders?

"What are you talking about?" Double Trouble asked nervously, "Did someone die?"

Don't play dumb with me. You know why I'm here. Lose the idiot.

"Oh, okay," Double Trouble said before turning to their first and latest acting student, "That was a very... compelling performance, Seahawke. You can leave now."

"Oh, of course," the stupid moron said, eagerly shaking both hands with my therapist, "Thank you so much for this. I can't wait for my next class."

I watched Seahawke's backside closely as he swaggered out that door. I could watch him swagger out my door all day, but someone that dumb and that pretty had no business getting involved in something this dangerous. And I would do anything to keep that man safe... not that I'd ever say it out loud.

"I think you just did," Double Trouble commented.

Never you mind that! Where were you on the night Frosta's cake got poisoned?

"Hmm..." Double Trouble sighed, sitting down on the edge of their own couch and crossing their legs, "I was with Scorpia for most of the night. She was the one who invited me to the party. After we gave our gift to the Birthday girl, Queen Glimmer took me aside to discuss something we talked about in our last therapy session."

What specifically did you talk about?

"I'm afraid I can't divulge my clients personal information," Double Trouble sneered, lying back smugly on their couch, "You wouldn't want me gossiping to anyone about any of *your* sessions, would you?"

Uggh, fair... So what happened next?

"Well, Frosta and Scorpia were hanging out," Double Trouble recollected, "So I decided to check up on you guys, remember?"

I remember, you and Scorpia left just before the big fight Hordak and Entrapta had in the middle of the ballroom.

"Yeah, I would have loved to see that," Double Trouble sighed in regret, "But anyways, Scorpia came back, said she wanted me to show her where the bathrooms were. I thought she wanted to get into some hankey pankey, but we instead..."

Double Trouble stopped talking for a second to wipe something out of their eye.

"We decided that things weren't going to work out between us," Double Trouble said, their voice cracking briefly, "So I went home."

You went home.

"That's right," said Double Trouble.

From the party.

"Uh-huh," Double Trouble confirmed.

The party being held on top of a snowy mountain in the middle of a blizzard.

"I... really needed the exercise," Double Trouble explained.

And did anyone see when you left or when you arrived back in Brightmoon?

"No," Double Trouble answered, "I just went back to my room and drank myself to sleep."

Tell me, DT, do you know what Potassium Cyanide is?

"It's the poison used by the Horde's agents in case of capture by enemy forces," Double Trouble exposited, "Catra gave me some when she sent me out as Flutterina. I didn't see the point of it, to be honest. I'm really good at getting out of tight spots. Obviously, I didn't use it when you finally captured me. Why do you ask?"

It was also the poison that was found inside the cake.

"Ohhh..." Double Trouble sighed worryingly as realization slowly crept over their face, "Things aren't looking good for me right now, are they?"

That was certainly an understatement. DT's story stunk worse than rotting seaweed. They just admitted to having access to the poison used in the assassination attempt. They obviously just had a bad breakup with one of the princesses. And had no one to corroborate their alibi. That made for a perfect recipe of means, motive and opportunity. Which is precisely why it couldn't possibly have been them.

"Wait..." Double Trouble stuttered, "What?"

It's too easy. You're like... the second or third person I've talked to, and I still haven't gone over all the suspects yet. And in my experience, it's never the most likely suspect.

"Actually, in the real world and not in your mystery novels, it usually is," Double Trouble corrected, "The only other times it's some deranged psycho nobody who wanted to get even for some minor perceived slight."

Okay... so are you... like... making a confession or what?

"No, I'm sorry," Double Trouble apologized nervously, "I don't know why I can't stop saying things that keep just keep digging me in a deeper hole. I think I'm subconsciously trying to punish myself for hurting Scorpia and I'm really sorry for making out with Seahawke just now. I don't know what happened. We were just getting practicing getting reading lines as a different character and... Sweet Etheria, I can not shut up today!"

This whole situation was a confusing mess. Sure, it was hard to believe that DT left the party just before everyone got poisoned in the middle of a snowstorm. But it was even harder to believe the Horde Spy who had fooled the entire Princess Alliance into believing they were Flutterina couldn't come up with a better alibi than 'I went home by myself'. My gut told me that DT was telling the truth, but was keeping something from me. Whatever happened between Scorpia and Double Trouble was the next clue in the case. And if the therapist wasn't going to tell me, I was going to go to my partner.

"Wait," Double Trouble interrupted, "Please don't get Scorpia involved in this. I don't need you making things worse for her. I talk, just... please don't tell her I told you this."

I sat back down and was ready to listen. If there was one thing any good detective knew, it was when to know when to keep a secret. This had better be good.

"Before Scorpia invited me to the Princess Prom two point oh," Double Trouble told me, "I thought she was going out with Princess Perfuma. I felt rejected so I got a little drunk and sent out a letter telling her I was happy for them and I may have threatened Perfuma if anything happened to Scorpia. Perfuma told Glimmer, who figured out I sent the letter and confronted me about it. I told her I was willing to apologize and smooth things over between me and Perfuma, but she ordered me to stay away from both of them. That's why me and her were arguing during the prom. She showed the letter to Scorpia and we broke up."

So Queen Bee decided to meddle in DT's personal relationship. Hate to say it but this didn't help their case in terms of motive. If someone tried to break me and Seahawke up over a mistake I made... I don't know what I'd do. One thing's for sure, they definitely needed to patch things up with Perfuma. Threatening a woman for dating someone you like is bad enough... even without the historical baggage of violence against trans people.

"Yeah, I get the point..." Double Trouble groaned, "I knew it was a mistake the moment I sent it, but I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. I'll try to get in touch with Perfuma the first chance I get. Just remember what I said about not telling Scorpia."

Their secret was safe with me. They also didn't need to worry about the whole thing with Seahawke. I saw them do worse with him after the last princess prom, I *did* far worse with the both of them after the last princess prom. I just needed to make sure I got a recording of their 'acting sessions' to watch later... to make sure I'm getting my money's worth.

"Well, I'd have to discuss that with Seahawke," Double Trouble explained, "Does this mean your okay with Seahawke taking lessons with a suspected princess assassin?"

Like I said, I believed them when they told me they didn't do it. It was proving it that was going to be the tricky part. We were done in Brightmoon, but this investigation wasn't over... not by a long shot...


	35. Glimmer, Session 6

"So, after everything that's happened..." Glimmer began, shuffling uncomfortably on the couch, "I've decided to keep the baby. After everything that happened last night, I realized that life is too short to wait for things to get better. I need to start living my life now while I still can."

"Oh, I see..." Double Trouble scoffed, their arms folded in contempt, "So we're not even going to bother addressing the elephant in the room?"

Glimmer's eyes narrowed at her therapist.

"Look, I know I've been putting on weight lately," Glimmer grumbled, "But elephant? Really? Not all of us can change our shape and size you know!"

"I'm not talking about that!" Double Trouble shouted in anger, before their tone quickly switched into a more professional, "It is perfectly normal for you to get heavier during pregnancy and I'm certainly not making fun of the way you look. No, what I want to know is why you gave Scorpia the letter during the party?"

"Why did you go with her to the party in the first place?" Glimmer shot back.

"Because she invited me!" Double Trouble argued, "What? Was I supposed to say no?"

"Yes!" Glimmer agreed, "That is exactly what you were supposed to do!"

"Well, excuse me for wanting to have a good time I guess," Double Trouble sneered, "You know what your problem is, Sparkles. You think you need to control everything that happens in Etheria. That if someone somewhere your kingdom is doing something you didn't personally give your royal okay to, you will go to the ends of the universe to put a stop to it."

"I'm not the bad guy here!" Glimmer screamed, "You're the one who sent that letter, not me! Scorpia deserved to know what kind of person you were! You made your choice, you live with it!"

"And I suppose you never made a mistake in your life, huh, little miss perfect?" Double Trouble snarked, "I was the one who wanted to apologize and smooth things over with Perfuma! You were the one who told me to keep away from her! But now, because Scorpia had to find out through you, she thinks I'm some duplicitous manipulative creep!"

"You are a duplicitous, manipulative creep!" Glimmer shouted, "Or did you think we all forgot about 'Flutterina'?"

"Wow, really?" Double Trouble gasped, "We're going back to that again? For the hundredth time: It! Was! A! Job! You entitled little squirt! Not all of us had mommy's castle to live in!"

"You knew who you were working for..." Glimmer glowered, "What we were fighting against..."

"And who are you working for right now?" Double Trouble accused, "What makes you think you're any better than me?"

"I am your Queen..." Glimmer answered, getting up from the couch to point an accusing finger at her therapist, "I have to make decisions that effect everyone in Etheria. How dare you speak to me like-"

Glimmer's triumphant speech was interrupted by an open palmed smack across the face.

"And now I've slapped a Queen!" Double Trouble explained, "But what's this? My hand somehow hasn't magically fallen off my wrist!"

Glimmer panted in anger as tears welled up in her eyes in embarrassment.

"I should have you executed for that..." Glimmer threatened.

"Go ahead... throw me back in the spare room..." Double Trouble goaded, "Get one of your guards to cut off my head and put it on a spike for all your subjects to see what happens when someone dares question the wisdom of the perfect spoiled little princesses. I don't care anymore. I'm done trying to help you. I quit."

Double Trouble gathered their things into their saddle bag and picked it up as they turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Glimmer called out, rubbing their cheek in shock.

"I don't know," Double Trouble laughed nervously, "I'm not staying here. I can't go back to the Crimson Wastes. I certainly can't go back to the Fright Zone. I really have to hand it to you, Glimmer. No one in Etheria could have screwed me over as much as you did. The Horde must be so lucky to have found a like you to be their patsy. Goodbye, your majesty."

Double Trouble opened the door to their office but before leaving turned around again to say one more thing.

"Oh, by the way, I'm not even going to bother asking for my security deposit back," Double Trouble shouted back, "So have fun with that cleanup job."

As Double Trouble slammed the door loudly behind them, Glimmer quietly knelt down next to the couch and began to cry loudly into her arms.


	36. 6th Interlude, A New Hope

A hole opened up in the ceiling of the dark cave and a long strand of rope unraveled down through the thin beam of daylight pouring in. A small humanoid figure with blonde hair and a red jacket gracefully slide down the rope onto the cold glass floor below. Pulling a long thin tube from her belt, Adora pushed a button on the device and a florescent beam of light shot from it on to the intricate hieroglyphs on the wall.

"Alright, I'm here, Entrapta..." Adora whispered under her breath.

The Crystal Castle gave off a foreboding aura as Adora walked down the now completely dead ruins. It felt like years ago when she was first drawn here, the new up and comer in the Horde ranks, a belligerent Princess commander and the surprisingly friendly rebel insurgent with a bow. It was just as dark as it was back then, but even still, back then it felt like the place was alive... watching over her... But now? The entire complex felt cold and lifeless. Knowing what she knew now, Adora didn't know what she would have preferred.

As Adora made her way through the mausoleum of the First Ones, a tiny *clink* behind her made her stop dead in her tracks. It was the sound of metal scratching against the glass floor. Adora carefully turned around to see eight gigantic glowing red eyes staring back at her.

"SCREEEEE!" the spider roared as it raised it's forelegs to smash the ground in front of it.

Adora rolled out of the way of it's attack, the shock of it's impact causing her to stumble and drop the torchlight. Unable to clearly see her opponent, Adora fell to the ground as the giant metal monstrosity leapt on top of her. Adora felt the crushing weight of cold steel push down against her lower body as she wrestled against slimy, snapping jaws closing in on her head. Adora closed her eyes and looked away as she held the Spider's fangs apart with her bare hands. The two combatants struggled as they both focused intently on overpowering the other. Adora groaned in effort when she heard a familiar voice call out through the darkness.

"No!" shouted the nasally voice of the engineer Princess of Dryl, "Bad Amanda! We do not eat our guests!"

Adora heard the clang of something metal repeatedly striking the spider's metal body and felt the vibrations of its strikes reverberate through her own hands and legs. Before long, she felt the weight lift off her body as the spider backed away from her. Adora opened her eyes again to see a dull purple light illuminate the room, the giant spider crawling up the crystal walls up to the ceiling and its eight red eyes staring down at her, watchful of her every move. Before Adora could even think of what to do next, a metal welding mask with two large purple insectoid eyes was directly in her face.

"Hi, Adora!" Entrapta greeted, standing over Adora's prone body and offering a strand of hair to help her up as she waved, "Sorry about Amanda. I'm still training her on how to act around other people. Are you okay?"

"Entrapta..." Adora gasped as she got up from the ground, wiping the dust from her pants, "I'll be alright. Thank you."

"I'm sooo happy you decided to come," Entrapta cheered, "Hordak didn't think you would make it."

"Riiight..." Adora groaned, "So I'm guessing that means you two haven't broken up yet."

"You know it's funny," Entrapta laughed, "Hordak keeps asking the exact same thing about you and Catra."

Adora cocked her head at Entrapta's uncharacteristically snarky comment.

"Did you just..?" Adora began, "Nevermind..."

As Adora followed Entrapta through the catacombs, she looked at the wall and the ground in thought. After a while, she decided to finally speak up.

"Listen, Entrapta..." Adora called out.

"Yes?" Entrapta replied.

"I'm not here to help you rebuild the Heart of Etheria," Adora explained, "I'm here because I wanted to talk to you personally. Away from Hordak, away from Catra and the rest of the Horde. You need to stop this. People are going to get hurt if you continue. People will die if Horde Prime is allowed to use this place as a weapon."

"People die everyday, Adora," Entrapta commented, only half listening as she tapped happily on their tablet, "It's the one thing everyone eventually does. Until someone discovers a way to stop it, but that's somewhat outside my field of study."

"Entrapta..." Adora pleaded, "No good can come from this place. That is why I destroyed the sword to begin with. You need to listen to me."

"Oh, Adora, I always listen," Entrapta said, taking a moment to turn back and open her visor to look at her, "You just haven't said anything to convince me to change my current course of action."

"Entrapta, why are you doing this?" asked Adora, "What could possibly be worth giving Horde Prime the power to kill trillions of people in an instant?"

"Knowledge is the only true power!" Entrapta replied, "I've studied First One's tech my whole life to make life better for everyone. Do you know how much the standard of living has changed for the average Etherian since the Horde first came to our world? People used to live in huts made out of sticks and mud, starving from poor agricultural practices and dying from diseases we can cure with a pill now. Hordak gave us that! We have industry, medicine and astronomy thanks to him. We can go to other worlds now, Adora! Just imagine how much more we can do when we discover the secrets this place holds!"

"I used to believe that too," Adora said, "Back when I was with the Horde, I thought we were fighting to make Etheria a better place. That we were taking down the corrupt and evil princesses who were holding the rest of us back. But when Bow and Glimmer brought me here, they showed me that all I was doing was hurting and terrorizing innocent people. That Shadow Weaver and Hordak were just using me to take power for themselves, the same way he's using you now."

"The Horde isn't using me," Entrapta argued, "If anything, I'm using them. The Horde has the resources I need to continue my work and I have the skills and expertise they need to turn it into something useful. There will always be despots and tyrants hurting innocent people, but the Horde can at least offer some sort of order after everything is done. Hopefully after today, you'll see that."

"What are you talking about?" Adora queried, "I told you, I'm not helping you fix the Heart of Etheria."

"Oh, we don't need your help anymore," Entrapta explained, "We've already fixed the Heart of Etheria. I just thought you should be here when we turned it on."

Adora stopped walking and stared at Entrapta wide eyed in shock.

"...What?!" Adora shouted, the echoes of her query reverberating through the entire complex.

~*~

Adora and Entrapta passed through one of the six entrances to the Crystal Castle's main hall. Each archway was divided from each other by five obelisks that stretched all the way the the ceiling. Each of the entrances face a wall mural with an inscribed portrait of She-Ra pointing her sword down at a gigantic computer screen surrounded by the misshapen artifacts of Horde technology. Hordak himself was standing at attention next to a computer terminal with a keyboard and a chair when they both arrived, his claws clasped behind his back under his flowing black cape. He turned to face the princesses that had entered, his expression as stoic and unreadable as ever. In that old armor and glowing red eyes, Adora thought he looked exactly how she remembered on the Horde propaganda posters displayed all over the Fright Zone and felt uncomfortable as she remembered how much she used to idolize this monster when she was a Horde soldier.

"Entrapta... She-Ra..." Hordak greeted, nodding politely to the two women, "Horde Prime has given us our first target: Primus, a world in the Trisolar System. The planet's leadership has been harboring known criminals, terrorists and political revolutionaries. We are to destroy this world as an example to any others that dares to undermine our authority. Entrapta, you are to begin at once."

The giant screen turned on and showed the picture of what looked like a blue and green marble, surrounded by what appeared to be transparent plastic sphere. Adora could help but think of how much it looked like the educational models of their own planet.

"Oh..." Entrapta said, her tone deflating as she closed her visor and slowly walked towards her own computer terminal and sat down, "Okay."

"What is the population of Primus?" Adora called out.

"Approximately seven billion sentients," Hordak reported, "Not including the wide variety of indigenous flora and fauna native to that world. Entrapta, how long until the weapon becomes fully operational?"

"I just need to activate our workarounds and the Heart of Etheria should be at full power in 5 minutes," Entrapta reported, "Commencing primary ignition."

"Good..." Hordak grunted in satisfaction, "You may fire when ready."

Entrapta tapped some keys on her keyboard and the giant monitor in front of her displayed the number 5:00 in large ominous lettering with a progress bar underneath. After a second, the screen switched to displaying 4:59 and began counting down. Adora gave an angry glare at Hordak before she began walking towards Entrapta.

"Entrapta, please, you can't do this," Adora hissed into her ear, "You can't let him control you. If you do this, you will be responsible for the deaths of seven billion people. You can't possibly be okay with that."

"Those people are our enemies, Entrapta," Hordak called out, approaching the two women, "They have chosen to ally themselves against the Horde. Continue with the operation."

"No!" Adora shouted, turning back to Hordak, "I am not going let you use me to hurt people again!"

"No one is using you, Princess," Hordak growled, bending over to look Adora in the eye, "Your presence here is merely a formality. As you can plainly see, we have managed to complete this project without your help. Go back to your palace in Brightmoon and enjoy the luxuries we have provided you and your friends and we can forget this small indiscretion of loyalty."

"No! I am not letting anyone else die because of my mistakes!" Adora screamed.

"Princess, cease this childish whining and think logically for once in your pathetic life," Hordak snarled, "This project is the only reason my brother has seen fit to spare your worthless planet, everyone you know and love, everyone you've ever seen or talked to. Would you allow everything here to be destroyed for your moral indignation?"

"And how many other worlds have to die to save our own 'worthless' lives?" asked Adora, "One? A hundred? A million?"

"As many as are needed bring peace to the universe," Hordak answered.

"Not while I'm She-Ra..." Adora growled.

With both hands, Adora launched Hordak forcefully up in the air and through one of the surrounding pillars with a devastating gentle push. His cape fluttered in the wind as the obelisk crumbled under his impact and he limply fell to the ground. Adora then picked up the heaviest thing she could find next to her and threw it at the giant screen counting down, smashing it to pieces.

"Oh... no... not the monitor..." Entrapta groaned with a tone of robotic boredom, as she pulled out and set up a small tablet on her station, displaying the same countdown, "That was the key to our entire operation..."

Before Adora could reach Entrapta, Hordak came at her from behind and tackled her to the ground. Adora grabbed onto Hordak's arm as his claw pinned her on the ground by the neck.

"I'll... never... give in to the Horde," Adora groaned, "I'll die before I let you win."

"As you wish, Princess..." Hordak hissed, his grip tightening around Adora's throat, "Your services are no longer required..."

As Adora felt the metal claw hold her in place, she curled her legs together and pushed them up into Hordak's chest. Adora closed her eyes and she could hear the sound of straining metal as Hordak winced in pain, but she still felt him hold onto her with all his effort. Eventually, she heard a sickening crunch and a pop as her legs fully extended and launched the weight on top of her into the air, but she still felt Hordak's claw on her neck. Confused, Adora opened her eyes to see a dismembered arm leaking black liquid onto her pants from where it was previously attached to Hordak's shoulder. Acting quickly in revulsion, she instinctively grabbed the arm and pulled it off of her, throwing it on the floor in disgust when she saw the claw continue to twitch open and closed. She slowly got up and saw her enemy attempt to do the same from the far side of the room.

"AAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Hordak roared in agony as he clutched the stump on his shoulder leaking black liquid down his side.

Hardening her expression, Adora faced her opponent as he charged desperately at her and was ready for him as he swung his remaining claw at her. Adora grabbed his claw and twisted his wrist with her right hand and pushed away his head by the chin with the other, keeping his gnashing fangs away from her body. Adora gasped in pain as Hordak bit down on her left hand and she reflexively twisted his head... all the way around his neck. Hordak's arm went limp as Adora let the twitching, one armed corpse fall to the ground. Adora drew back, wide eyed and open mouthed in horror, as she realized what she had done.

"Yay, Adora!" Entrapta cheered, clapping excitedly from her seat at the computer terminal as she opened her welding visor, "I knew you could do it!"

Adora turned around and stared at Entrapta with indescribable fury.

"Stop it!" she ordered, "Right now!"

"Oh, yes, of course," Entrapta said, picking up her tablet, "Computer! Turn off kitchen timer!"

"Kitchen timer function disabled," replied a calm female voice from her tablet and the countdown clock turned off.

"I'm so happy for you right now," Entrapta said, running up to Adora to give her a hug, "I can't wait to tell Hordak."

"Entrapta..." Adora said, forcefully pushing her away and shaking in anger, "I... I killed him... Do you... not know what death is?"

"The permanent ending of vital processes in a living organism," Entrapta recited, giving an impressed whistle as she stooped to examine Hordak's dead body, "Let's see: A traumatic amputation of the right arm followed by a comminuted cervical fracture, severing the spinal cord. Yep, you totally killed him."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Adora asked, tears welling in his eyes, "I just killed a man. Doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Nope, you broke a robot," Entrapta explained, "But don't worry I can fix it. Hector! Engage self repair protocols!"

Entrapta's hair tapped on her tablet screen a few times and the image of Hordak's corpse flickered away, revealing a one armed Hordak shaped robot leaking motor oil on the ground. The robot silently sat up from the ground and it's remaining claw turned it's head back into place. The claw then reconfigured into a welding arm and it soldered the broken wiring in it's neck, causing tiny sparks to flicker off of it. Satisfied, it stood up and walked over to it's dismembered arm and picked it up to reattach it to it's shoulder. Adora looked at it work for a moment before turning back to Entrapta. Seething in rage, Adora grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against one of the sturdier obelisks.

"Oof!" Entrapta grunted in pain.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Adora screamed in fury, "HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK YOU COULD TRICK ME LIKE THAT?!"

"I'm sorry, Adora," Entrapta apologized, closing her visor again to avert her gaze, "But we had to be sure we could trust you. This was a test and you passed! You should be proud of yourself."

"A test?" Adora repeated in shock, "You made me think I just killed someone! I'm going to be sick."

Adora let go of Entrapta and held on to her knees as she hyperventilated in an attempt to keep the contents of her stomach inside her body.

"Yeah, sorry again. I didn't expect things escalate that far," Entrapta said, her hair taking our a dirty rag and wiping the oil off of Adora's pants, "Hordak wanted to know how far you would go to stop the Horde from using the Heart of Etheria. He told me you were much stronger than he expected, so I did everything I could to improve Hector's strength and durability, but it looks like even that wasn't enough. Make no mistake, Adora, if the two of you ever actually got into a fight, you would have absolutely destroyed him."

"Why?" Adora inquired, "Why does Hordak want to know what I'd do to stop this?"

"Because we haven't been working on restoring the Heart of Etheria," Entrapta explained, putting the rag back in her pocket, "We've been trying to figure out how to get Horde Prime off of our planet."

~*~

Kyle looked around nervously as he walked down the dirty streets of the fright zone in the pouring rain. Things had gotten safer since the Horde boosted their patrols over this area and rumors of the Grey Ghost of Hordak haunting the alleyways had scared off most of the criminal element away to the Crimson Wastes. But it was the very thing keeping Kyle safe from muggers that frightened him the most. He just wanted to get this job done and back into Whispering Woods as soon as possible.

Kyle contemplated the irony of that last thought when he came across his objective. A crate left unguarded in the middle of an empty alleyway. On top was a simple slip of paper with the insignia of Hordak's Etherian Horde, a blood red teardrop with large red batwings. Kyle opened the lid and looked inside. Old Horde weapons and equipment left over from Scorpia's disbanding of the Fright Zone's military. Kyle was confused about the change in plans. He was supposed to bring a briefcase of precious stones to the meeting place and trade them for this crate, but no one else was around. Not wanting to anger his client, Kyle left the briefcase lying against the wall next to crate. As Kyle studied how he was going to bring this heavy box back to the resistance, when he felt a tug against his pant leg and was suddenly pulled upside down into the air.

"Aaahhh!" Kyle screamed in horror as he fell up into the sky and came face to face with two red eyes shrouded the darkness.

"Where is the resistance getting it's weapons?" the figure interrogated.

"Oh, no..." Kyle stammered, "Force Captain Grizzlor, he's been selling us his old stuff. It was just going to be thrown away and dismantled anyway."

"You're not very good at keeping secrets, are you?" the figure observed.

"No, I'm not," Kyle agreed, "I am a complete and total coward. Please don't hurt me."

"Tell me everything you know about Hector Malone in Dryl," the figure ordered.

"Nothing!" Kyle pleaded, "I don't know anything about him. You have to believe me."

"Don't lie to me!" threatened the figure, "I know Malone has been trying to get in touch with the Etherian resistance to sell them advanced military hardware! What I want to know is when they plan on meeting!"

"I don't know!" Kyle insisted, "I've never heard that name before. I swear to Etheria."

"SWEAR TO ME!" the figure roared.

Before Kyle could say anything else, he felt his pant leg release and he dropped into another screaming freefall towards the ground below. Just before he hit the ground, Kyle felt his pant leg pull again and he was left swinging upside down above the weapons crate. A second later he heard a click come from his leg and drop him headfirst onto the wooden crate.

"Oof!" Kyle groaned in pain as he rubbed his head while picking himself up.

Kyle looked up to see if he could spot the figure who captured him, only to get the brief glimpse of a black cape flapping from the rooftops above. It only took a moment for Kyle to start sprinting away down the street as fast as he could, leaving the weapons crate and the briefcase behind in the wet alleyway. Hordak watched him carefully from his perch as the scared revolutionary fled in terror.

"Idiot..." Hordak cursed under his breath.

Hordak pushed a button in the arm of his armor and held it up to his mouth.

"Entrapta, are you there?" Hordak asked, "I have finished my patrol and will be returning shortly."

He waited a second for a response

"You must be busy," Hordak theorized, "I'll just leave a message. Testing went well on the new equipment tonight. You were right to lower the voltage on the adhesive electrical discharge devices. As it turns out, the rain tonight has made their use particularly dangerous due to conductivity. It only took a few seconds to achieve total shutdown of the subjects nervous system. I have made contact with the resistance arms dealer and planted him with the disinformation. With luck, the resistance will begin looking into 'Hector Malone's' offer. Make sure they find something appealing. I'll see you soon."

Hordak released the button on his arm and pulled out a gun shaped device from his belt with two clawed hooks where the barrel would be. Quickly taking aim up in the air, he squeezed a trigger on the device and one of the hooks shot out with a sharp bang and a long black cable whirring after it. After the hook hit it's target on a nearby building with a subtle clang, a clicking noise indicated the hook had successfully found it's anchor. Hordak pushed a button with his thumb and the cord slowly whirred back into the device until it was taught. He then leapt off his perch and swung gracefully into the stormy night.

~*~

"And a simple electromagnet inside the projectile allows it to home in on and disable the electronics found in most handheld weapons used by the horde," Entrapta explained, watching Adora examine one of her throwing stars.

To demonstrate her invention, Entrapta took one of them out of the box and threw it towards an empty wall... only for the weapon to arc back around them. Adora and Entrapta both ducked as the First One's shuriken flew overhead and struck Hector the robot directly in the chest. Hector looked down and tried to pull out the sharp object from his chassis only for it to give off an electric spark. Hector twitched and sputtered before slumping over slightly, the lights in his eyes turning off.

"Oh, no..." Entrapta sighed, pulling out the shuriken with her hair and casually tossing it back in the box, "I really hope I remembered to back up his personality files recently."

"Okay," Adora said, moving on to some metal manacles with a computer display on the chain, "So what are these?"

"Restraints set to a timed release mechanism," Entrapta answered, "Since we're testing this stuff by taking down violent criminals, I thought the least we can do is make sure they stay put until Scorpia's guards arrive."

"Uh-huh," Adora grunted, holding up a large furry purple set, "Do these do anything special?"

"No, those are for our private use," Entrapta said, her hair quickly snatching the oddly colored restraints from Adora's hand and shoving them in her pocket.

"So how did you plan on getting these to Bow?" Adora asked.

"Oh, no, we're trying to find a way to get these to the resistance that has been attacking our trade convoys," Entrapta corrected.

"Bow *is* the one leading the resistance," Adora explained.

"Oh..." Entrapta gasped, pulling out her tablet to write down a note, "I have to admit, this is why I wanted your help. I'm not very experienced when it comes to helping plan overthrowing a galactic empire from our world. It was hard enough when it was just Hordak we were fighting against."

"Yeah, about that..." Adora said, "What makes you think Hordak can be trusted?"

"He's my lab partner!" Entrapta shouted, "If you can't trust your lab partner, who can you trust?"

As if summoned by their discussion, a loud ominous roar and the squeal of tires echoed through the chamber.

"What is that?!" Adora shouted, instinctively hiding behind a crate, "Did you tick off another First One's Beast?"

"No, that's the anniversary gift I built for Hordak," Entrapta exposited, letting out a satisfied sigh, "It really sucks that I have to keep wiping his memories to stop Horde Prime from figuring out what we're doing, but one of the perks is I get to surprise him with a new car every night."

A long black four wheeled vehicle inscribed with glowing red neon lines swerved into the chamber and spun to a stop in front of them. The machine appeared have been built around a large jet engine that ran through the center of the car. The canopy opened up to reveal a two passenger cockpit so it's pilot could exit.

"Hi, Hordak!" waved Entrapta, "Welcome home! We were just-Eep!"

Entrapta let out a squeek as Hordak wrapped one of his arms around her waist and cradled her head before dipping her into a passionate kiss. Entrapta held onto him tightly and played with the black tuft of hair on his head. Adora peeked nervously from her hiding spot.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you," Hordak apologized, caressing Entrapta's cheek with the back of his claw, "But I wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything you do for me."

"Right," Entrapta gasped, breathing heavily as she stared deeply into his eyes, "I forget how you get after a long drive."

"Ahem," Adora coughed, standing up to be noticed by the two Horde scientists.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Entrapta told Hordak, "Adora is here, too."

"Oh..." Hordak gulped, his ears flattening and face burning bright red in embarrassment, "Good evening, She-Ra. I did not know you would be joining us."

Adora marched up to her former boss, looked up into his eyes and punched him in the face. Hordak fell flat on his cape and hit the back of his head against the hood of the vehicle with a mighty thump. Entrapta clasped her hands over her mouth in shock as Adora stood silently over her former enemy.

"I understand there are many things I have done to warrant that," Hordak admitted, wiping the back of his wrist over his lower jaw as he picked himself back up, "But I am curious as to what has motivated this particular incident."

"Where do I begin?!" Adora shouted, "After everything you've done, the war, the death, the destruction, the abuse I suffered... You expect me to believe you just suddenly want to change sides now! No... it's worse then that, because apparently I'm the one who isn't trustworthy enough that you needed to trick me into killing you to stop you from destroying another planet."

"She killed me?" Hordak asked Entrapta.

"Oh, yes," Entrapta nodded, her hair tapping the screen of her tablet as she gave him a look of concern, "Please don't fight."

"Impressive," Hordak noted, as the floor below Entrapta's four wheeled gift slowly lowered beneath them, "Most impressive..."

"Impressive?!" Adora repeated, as large trap doors closed over the car, perfectly concealing it, "Is that all you have to say for yourself."

"My apologies," said Hordak, "I felt the deception was necessary to protect my intentions from Horde Prime. Obviously, there appears to be no need. Has Entrapta explained everything to you?"

"Most of it," Adora answered, "But why now? Why not decades ago when it would have actually mattered?"

"Would you believe it if I told you that I have grown weary of conquering worlds in a pathetic attempt to win the approval of my unassailable brother?" Hordak asked, placing a caring hand on Entrapta's shoulder, "That all I want now is to live a life of quiet scientific pursuit with my loving partner free from his oppressive rule?"

"Not for a second," Adora answered flatly.

Hordak sighed and rubbed his fingers over his eyes.

"Then how about revenge?" groaned Hordak, "That after doing everything in my power to return to my brother and prove my loyalty and worth to him, he still rejected me because nothing I could do would ever be good enough for him. And I want to see him lose everything the same way he took everything from me."

"Yeah, that's much more believable," Adora scoffed.

"Good," Hordak growled, "I am pleased we are able to establish how little you think of me. Shall we get started?"

Hordak motioned towards the gigantic broken computer terminal that dominated the room. Entrapta placed her tablet above the keyboard and began typing furiously

"So what do you have planned so far?" Adora asked, looking over Entrapta's shoulder.

"Unfortunately, my condition has precluded my ability to actively scheme against the greater Horde," Hordak explained, "If my brothers find even the slightest whiff of disloyalty in my memories, all of this will be for naught. Everything we are discussing now will be forgotten by me in order to protect Entrapta and our stalling of the Heart of Etheria project."

"The hardest thing about fighting the Horde right now is how much more advanced they are than us in terms of resources," Entrapta commented, "At this time, we can't even reach their spaceships in order to attack them properly."

Adora stroked her chin in thought.

"When I first joined the Princess Alliance," Adora thought aloud, "Our first goal was recruiting allies to a common cause. If we can't get up there, maybe someone else can."

"That would appear to be prudent course of action," Hordak commented, "Entrapta, give Adora a map of the planets closest to us not currently controlled by the Horde."

Entrapta tapped on a few keys and a cluster of primitive holograms surrounded, displaying planets orbiting the center of room.

"You said the Horde is currently stalled against fighting the people of Primus," Adora noted, pointing at the familiar world, "Maybe they would be powerful enough to help us fight the Horde."

"The citizens of Primus appear to be content to hide behind their planetary shield," Hordak explained, "However, they may be amicable to sheltering us if we were willing to abandon Etheria."

"Alright, so that's our plan B for when everything goes completely wrong," Adora translated, walking towards a red desert planet, "Moving on, then... what's this world... Skaro?"

"I would avoid Skaro if at all possible," Hordak warned, "The dominant creatures of that world will seek to execute us on sight. They consider any species genetically distinct from their own to be a infestation to be eradicated."

"Yikes, no, thank you," Adora groaned, walking between a cluster of elaborate hollowed out shapes, "What about one of these planets? They look pretty."

"Those worlds belong to the Gem Empire which is much more... indifferent in it's malice," Hordak replied, "They are inhabited by polymorphic rock creatures that do not consider carbon based life forms to be truly 'alive'. They will not kill us just for existing, only if we do anything to inconvenience them."

"Uh-huh, so no help there," Adora snarked, moving onto a planet more similar looking to Etheria, "This world looks nice, 'Equestria'?"

"Equestria is a primitive world even compared to Etheria," Hordak dismissed, "I highly doubt we would be able to find a way to even contact them, much less expect any useful help from them."

"Okay, then," Adora said, moving over to a what appeared to be a straight line of planets with city sized propaganda billboards orbiting them, "What are these planets?"

"The Irken Empire controls that section of space," Hordak explained, "What they lack in intelligence and basic spacial reasoning, they make up for in stubbornness and sheer numbers. I'm sure if we could manipulate their attack fleet into moving against the Horde, they would be a valuable distraction. Unfortunately, their leadership seems content to simply take the worlds directly in their single-minded path."

"Well, that's something at least..." Adora admitted, before another planet caught her eye, "Wait a minute. Eternia? I've heard that name before!"

"I don't see how you could have," Hordak explained, "It is just another primitive backwater with no strategic or economic value to us or the Horde whatsoever."

"No, you don't understand," Adora said, "I think this is the planet where the First One's came from."

"Impossible," Hordak scoffed, "I have been there myself. Trust me when I say that world is better off forgotten."

"Alright, fine then," Adora groaned in frustration, "What about this world? It looks like it has big cities. I can't make out what it says here... Mondas? Mobius?"

"Now I am sure the robotocized cyborgs of that world would be perfectly willing to assist us in our fight against the Horde," Hordak said in a slightly brighter tone, before returning to his usual sullen self, "If you were willing to allow all of Etheria to be enslaved and assimilated into their hive mind."

"Yes! Of course! Great!" Adora cried out in anger at a completely metal planet, "What about this one?! I'm guessing these guys just want to steal children's souls or drink our brains or something?"

"Cybertron has been locked in civil war for countless millennia, long before the Horde even existed," Hordak exposited, "I would not expect them to stop fighting long enough to help us anytime soon."

"Right, so all I'm hearing are that the only other factions in the universe are either much worse than the Horde or too small for anyone else to notice," Adora complained, "Isn't there some kind interstellar government authority or a united alliance of planets that don't want enslave or kill everyone else?"

"The only ones we have encountered have chosen to completely abandon this region of space, either ascending to a higher plane of existence or simply venturing out to the far reaches of the cosmos," Hordak described, "The Asgardians, the Vorlons, the Q, the Guardians of Oa. All gone. I believe the Timelords of Gallifrey have recently become extinct again, but they bounced back from that before, so I would keep an eye out for their return. But for now, it would appear that Etheria's long exile in Despondos coupled with the presence of First One's technology has made it our best, if only, staging ground for aggressive action against the Horde."

"So that's it then?" Adora shrugged in frustration, "We're all that's left?"

"I'm sorry, Princess," Hordak sighed, "I'm afraid this isn't one of your Etherian fairy tales. There is no alien god in bright blue tights to swoop in from the sky and save us all in the nick of time. No clever wizard to suddenly pop out of a tiny blue box and instantly wipe away our problems with a wave of their magic wand. If we want to save Etheria, we will have to do it alone."

"Well, that's depressing..." Adora sighed, "How can we beat an enemy that has us completely overwhelmed? It's hopeless!"

"And yet..." Hordak said, "We must still try."

"I need to take a break," grumbled Adora as she leaned against a crate, "This is getting to be too much for me."

"Of course," Hordak said, "It is getting late. You are welcome to join us for dinner if you wish. I have prepared an artificially flavored enzyme nutrient paste for tonight's consumption."

"Oh, it's great!" Entrapta complimented, "They're like those ration bars in the fright zone, except partially liquid so I can put them in tiny cups to have while I'm working."

"As... good as that sounds," Adora said, wearily smiling to hide her disgust, "I need to get back to Brightmoon. Catra and Glimmer will probably be wondering where I've gone by now."

"Very well," said Hordak, "Can I at least offer you a ride home?"

"No!" Adora shouted much louder than she intended, "I mean, no, thank you. I'll be fine. I just... need some time alone to figure things out. One thing before I leave though. How did you make that robot look just like Hordak?"

"Oh, I can explain that!" Entrapta offered, "This whole complex is teeming with holographic projectors. It was easy to figure them out once I fixed the computer. She's been super helpful!"

"The computer..?" Adora asked nervously, "She..?"

"Oh, don't worry," Entrapta said, digging out a tiny box made out of first one's technology from a pile of electronic junk next to her, "I learned my lesson from the last time I experimented with artificial intelligence back in Dryl. Oh, hey that was when we first met! Anyways, I installed her on a closed system, unable to access our computer or the rest of the complex, so she can't hack into my robots again. Unfortunately, that also means she can't access most of her databanks, so there's a few limits on how much she can tell us. That's okay, though, I like figuring things out for myself."

Entrapta pushed a button on the tiny box and it projected the tiny holographic image of a blue woman with angular polygonal features in a hooded robe.

"Adora..." Entrapta said, "Say hi to-"

"Lighthope..." Adora interrupted.

"Hello, Adora," the tiny hologram spoke in a calm, if robotic, tin, "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Oh, have you both met before?" Entrapta asked obliviously.


	37. Perfuma, Session 1

Perfuma was sitting comfortably cross legged on her favorite patch of grass. Calmly breathing in the sweet Plumerian air and pretty fragrants from the sweet roses around her and slowly breathing out her worries for the coming day. Her eyes closed, she focused on the sounds of the birds singing in the trees, the bugs chittering behind rocks and bark, the soft sounds of footsteps carefully approaching her.

"Who's there?" Perfuma called out.

"Sorry," a voice replied, "Am I disturbing you?"

"It's alright," Perfuma reassured, "I'm just doing my morning meditation. Would you like to join me?"

"Um... sure," the voice answered, "To tell you the truth I don't normally do this sort of thing..."

"That's okay..." said Perfuma, "It's a skill to train like any other. But once you get the hang of it, I find it very helpful in keeping me calm and in control of my emotional state throughout the day."

"So, I'll just sit down here and close my eyes?" the voice asked.

"Whatever you feel comfortable with," Perfuma instructed, "Some beginners find it easier to focus on looking at a candle or a leaf blowing in the wind. The important thing is to pay close attention to the present... the now... to be aware of what your feeling, thinking and doing at this exact moment."

"This might be a bad time for me to start getting into this," the voice said with concern as Perfuma felt some shuffling on the grass next to her, "There's a lot of things I need to worry about right now."

"On the contrary, I think that makes right now the perfect time to learn," Perfuma said, "It's perfectly natural for your mind to wander on regrets of the past or worries for the future. You just need to take notice of when it happens, stop for a second and try again. It's important to find out what it is that is distracting you so you can learn to let go of it. Don't make a judgement or focus on the thought, just acknowledge its existence and move on without letting it carry you with it."

The figure beside her sat silently for a few moments. Satisfied, Perfuma returned to her own meditation and began what was known as a body scan. She mentally focused on the sensation of her curly hair, then her forehead, then her eyelids, her ears her nose, her mouth, her chin. What each part of her body was feeling from top to bottom to train her attention. She had just made it to her stomach when the figure beside her began to groan in frustration.

"I'm sorry," the voice apologized, "I don't think this is for me. I prefer actively doing something to solve my problems, even if it means just talking."

"Sometimes when we act without a calm and clear mind," Perfuma lectured, "We make a rash decision that only makes things worse."

"Uggh, yeah, that definitely applies to my current situation," the voice groaned.

"Why *are* you here?" Perfuma asked.

"Mostly I'm here because I got into a fight with my landlord and am currently between homes," the voice exposited, "But also I wanted to apologize to you, personally."

"For what?" Perfuma asked.

The figure took in a deep breath.

"I'm the one who sent the threatening letter about you and Scorpia," they explained, "I'm sorry. I regretted doing it almost instantly and you don't have to forgive me. But I wanted you to know that I didn't mean it and I would take it back if I could."

Perfuma sat silently in her meditation.

"I'm... just going to leave now," the voice said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

As Perfuma heard the sound of soft footsteps walk away, she decided to speak up.

"You were with the Horde, weren't you?" Perfuma asked, "Hordak's horde, I mean."

"Yes," the voice answered.

"Tell me," said Perfuma, "Did the Horde ever make you kill anyone? Did you ever have to watch someone die knowing you were responsible for their death?"

"No..." the voice replied, "My first instinct is usually to get out of a situation when it turns violent."

"During the battle of Plumeria," Perfuma told the figure, "I chose to forsake my people's teachings of pacifism to save Bow, Glimmer and the She-Ra. After all, what has our pacifism truly made of us? We allowed our lands to be poisoned and allowed the She-Ra and her friends to fight our battles for us. I remember during the battle... there was this one soldier, a boy... no older than a teenager. He pointed his gun at me, so I did what any normal person would do to protect themselves, I killed him first. I wrapped a vine around his throat and strangled him to death. I probably could have just knocked the gun out of his hand. I could have just made a wall of vines to protect myself. I could have maybe even just restrained him until the battle was over. But I was so... angry and I hated him so much for everything the Horde was doing to our world, to Plumeria, to my friends, to me. And the part that scares me the most wasn't when I was fighting for my life. It wasn't after the battle, when I pulled off his helmet to see the terrified expression frozen on his face. It's when I remember how much fun I was having at the time, how much I enjoyed it. I... took pleasure in the pain and death of another..."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" the voice inquired.

"Because you were honest with me, and I think if I asked my friends this, they would just tell me what I want to hear," Perfuma said, "But I want to know the truth: Do you think I'm a bad person?"

"I'm really not in a position to judge anyone for what they did during the war," the voice said, "But for what it's worth... I don't think a bad person would even bother asking that question in the first place."

Perfuma sat silently for a while, breathing in and out.

"Your apology is accepted," Perfuma stated, "You are welcome to stay in Plumeria as long as you need. I also want you to know that your welcome would have been unconditional regardless of your answer."

"Thank you, your Highness," the voice said, "To tell you the truth, I don't think this place is really my scene, but I'm not sure if there's anywhere else for me to go. Is it alright if I get back to you on that?"

"Of course," Perfuma said, "Take as long as you need."

Perfuma returned to her meditation and was soon able to ignore the sound of footsteps as they slowly disappeared into other sounds of the forest. When she was ready, she opened her bloodshot eyes and coughed the last of the smoke out of her lungs.

"So... like, was I just talking to someone just now?" Perfuma asked herself, picking up her pipe to take another puff, "Or was I imagining that? It probably doesn't matter... At least they seemed nice..."

~*~

DT's notes

Perfuma, Session 1  
-Alright, time to make peace with the hippy. Should be simple, right?  
-Just need to ingratiate myself as easily as possible, when in Plumberia, do as the Plumerians do.  
-Note to self: Meditation sucks hard  
-Pacifism sucks too and Perfuma agrees.  
-Feels guilty for the likely many, *many* people she had to personally kill during the war  
-Possibly uses meditation as a means to control her homicidal urges  
-All in all I think things went well between us, for a revolutionary warrior princess, Perfuma is really easygoing.  
-Sidenote: For some reason, I could really go for some snacks right now. Must be the fresh air and exercise.


	38. Catra, 1st Analysis

Catra took a deep breath before she entered the war room. The many chairs that used to belong to the representatives of the former Princess Alliance surrounded the circular map table, it's broken hologram projectors replaced with advanced horde technology. On the other side of the table, sitting in Queen Angela's former seat of power, a Horde clone with blue skin, red eyes and a white military uniform was carefully examining a holographic representation of the lands around the Whispering Woods. Two normal green eyed guards stood at attention on both sides of him.

"Ah, Director Catra," the general greeted calmly, "How nice of you to finally join us. You are both dismissed."

The two clone soldiers beside him bowed before silently taking their leave out the door Catra entered, one of them giving her a quick look of contempt as he passed by her. When the doors closed behind her, Catra stiffened up as she pulled out a stack of papers and carefully walked up to the table.

"I have prepared my report to Horde Prime regarding the incident at Princess Frosta's birthday party," Catra stated officially, carefully placing her stack on the table.

"We will have time to discuss your failure to secure the princesses safety later, Director," the clone sneered, tenting his claws in front of his face, "But first I wanted to hear from your personal opinion as to why Horde Prime has chosen to give you this assignment in the first place."

"I do not see how that is any of your business," Catra said, as professionally as she could muster, "Horde Prime trusts me to keep the princesses in line and ensure their smooth transition into the Horde hierarchy, that should be all you need to know."

"I believe you are mistaken in your assessment of our Emperor's 'trust' in you as you put it," the clone corrected, "Horde Prime has billions upon billions of worlds to look after. He could hardly be expected to give his personal attention to each and every minor problem that you fail to correct for. Which is why you were ordered to come to this meeting in the first place. So I will ask you again, why do you think you were given this important position on this world?"

"Because no one else knows the Princesses like I do," Catra told the clone, "I know how they think, I know what they want, and I know how to make them work for him. I just don't see why I have to explain this to another Hordak."

"That... term... Hordak..." the clone growled, "Never use it again, in my presence or otherwise. It is the title of a defective failure and it's very existence is an insult to the Horde and our Emperor."

"I'm sorry, sir," Catra apologized, averting her gaze from the clone, "What I meant to say is that I find it difficult to tell any of you clones apart."

"And that is also something what I want impress upon you, Director," the clone stated firmly, "As far as you should be concerned there is no difference between us and our Emperor. That while you may be our Emperor's representative to Etheria, *we* are his representatives to *you*. Do not ever... *ever*... make the mistake of thinking that the power we allow you to hold over your people can possibly put you above or even the equal to me or any one of my brothers. Is that understood?"

Catra's ear twitched slightly to give away her frustration, but she continued to stand at attention. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Yes... sir..." she grumbled, opening her eyes again.

"Good..." the clone said, finally relaxing back into his chair, "Regarding your relationship with the princesses. What is your opinion on their integration into the greater Horde?"

"Spark- that is to say Queen Glimmer, is the key to our hold on the Etherian people," Catra reported, "All the other princesses respect and defer to her, and she is smart enough to know what disloyalty to Horde Prime means for her world and its people."

"The princesses are indeed complying to all matters they are expected to," the clone observed, "But I have noticed that the She-Ra has been seen making openly seditious remarks towards members of the Horde. What measures have you taken to correct this behavior?"

"I am handling Adora very closely and personally," Catra answered, "She had recently become disillusioned with what the Horde represents to Etheria and needs to be reminded of the benefits of working with us. You don't need to worry about her. I will make sure she does the right thing when the time comes."

"I hope so, Director, for your sake," the clone noted, "Now we can discuss the incident that happened during the party and steps we will take to correct it."

The clone offered a claw toward the empty chair to his right. Catra approached cautiously and sat down, focusing her eyes on the map in front of her so as to not look at him directly.

"Tell me what went happened," the clone ordered.

"All the facts are in my report," Catra stated, "In short, I had allowed the princesses to handle their own security arrangements. And that turned out to be a mistake on my part."

"It was an error to be sure," the clone corrected, "But the true mistake would have been accepting the responsibility of your actions and position. Do you see the difference?"

Catra continued staring silently away from the clone. The clone gave a tiny smirk as he gave Catra a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Catra recoiled slightly at the clone's touch.

"Anyone can make an error, Director," lectured the clone, returning his attention to the papers in front of him, "But an error only becomes a mistake when you fail to correct it. That is why we are going to assign each princess vital to this operation one of my brothers to be their personal bodyguard and watch over them."

The clone handed Catra a file which described the detailed profiles and histories of six Horde clones, each matched with a runestone princess.

"The princesses will be resistant to the idea of us interfering in their personal lives," Catra replied, looking through the folder, "They're already on edge after the attack."

"Which is why I want you to convince them of its necessity for their continued safety," the clone explained, "I doubt they could argue against the fact that even a defective clone proved more than capable of ensuring their wellbeing during the incident."

"Yes, sir," Catra said, putting the folder away.

"And in the interest of public safety," the clone continued, "We will report to the Etherian population that the assassination attempt was perpetrated by the Rebel Terrorists that have been allowed to fester in the Whispering Woods."

"How did you find that out?" Catra asked, "I haven't found enough evidence to implicate them yet. From all I could tell, the Etherian Rebels have done everything they could to *prevent* loss of life during our engagements."

"Regardless, that is what officially happened as far as the Horde is concerned," the clone told Catra, "This resistance moment must be quashed at once. They have already cost the Horde too much with their interference."

"They are trying to bait us into a direct attack on the Woods themselves," Catra explained, "That is why I've requested the Horde provide us with enough aerial transports for our supply convoys can avoid the Woods altogether. We need to starve them out."

"Starve them out?" the clone repeated, "From a entrenched location abundant with naturally occurring flora and fauna? We have ignored this problem for far too long. Simply ignoring it further would be counterproductive."

"Alright then," Catra shrugged, "What does the Horde suggest?"

"You must know your enemy to defeat them, Director," the clone answered, "I am to understand the Rebel insurgency mainly consists of former military members from both sides of the war and that you personally fought with and against several members in particular, correct?"

"Bow is the one seen leading these attacks," Catra reported, "I've only fought him a few times. He's too smart for his own good. Reliant on his toys and gadgets in a fight. Worst of all, he's compassionate, even towards his enemies. It makes him unwilling to do what's necessary to win a fight. How's that for knowledge?"

"Far less comprehensive than I had hoped..." the clone sighed, "I want you to lead an incursion into the Whispering Woods. Light infantry only with minimal heavy equipment."

"Yeah, I get it..." Catra sighed back, "I've failed to protect the princesses for you and now you want me to go on a suicide mission to punish me. Horda- Your defective brother didn't like getting his hands dirty either. Ask him how well that worked out."

"This is hardly a suicide mission," the clone scoffed, "Your primary objective will be one of reconnaissance. I want to know where the rebels are coming from, so that we will be better prepared for a larger operation in the woods. Your forces are to record everything you see and hear and are ordered to fall back as soon as the enemy engages with you."

"Very well, sir," Catra said, "When did you want me to leave?"

"As soon as possible after you complete my previous instructions to ensure the princesses safety, Director," the clone ordered, "And don't forget. I want a complete report of the Rebels methods and capabilities. The equipment they are using, how they move, what insults they choose to throw at you. Everything. The tiniest detail can make all the difference when we finally come up with our plan of attack. Understood?"

"Of course, sir," Catra said, standing up from her seat, "And with respect, sir, I look forward to being out in the field again."

"Yes, I had thought you might..." the clone said with a coy smirk, "You are dismissed, Director."

Catra bowed to the general and walked towards the door, hiding a smirk of her own.

"Finally..." she whispered to herself as she left the war room.

~*~

First Analysis of the Director of Etherian Affairs  
Horde Unit Theta Rho Reporting

-Subject Catra has proven somewhat tardy when summoned, will need to correct that.  
-Has presented a frustrating talent for ambition and insubordination, both will need to be watched carefully.  
-At the very least, my brother can not be faulted for instilling proper military decorum in his soldiers, it is obvious she knows the correct way to address a superior officer, she just chooses not to.  
-Contrary to previous assumptions about her species, does not like to be pet.  
-Shows some promise in understanding long term strategy, with careful tutoring could be expected to master simple assignments.  
-As expected, takes a far greater interest in front line command than participating in the bureaucracies of political leadership.  
-Will continue to monitor closely for signs of treason


	39. Seahawke, Lesson 2

"Just let me get my key..." Seahawke could be heard saying from the other end of the doorway before he began making a series of hard grunts in tune to loud thumps against the door, "Umf! Umf! Umf! Here it comes! Huzzah!"

The sound of two blocks of wood falling on the floor preceded the double doors being violently kicked open, revealing Seahawke holding a small axe over his shoulder.

"Here we are!" Seahawke boasted, casually tossing the axe onto the floor, "Sooo... What do you think?"

Following behind Seahawke, Double Trouble could tell the Salineas Opera House had seen better days. Dust and debris littered the stage, most of the seats had been pulled up from their mountings, the only illumination came from a single beam of light that shined down from a prominent hole in the ceiling and the faint odor of mildew permeated the dark room. Double Trouble breathed in the toxic fumes and closed their eyes, letting a single tear drop from their face. Reading their expression, Seahawke placed a comforting hand on their shoulder.

"I know it's not much to look at right now," Seahawke admitted, "But I'm sure with a little bit of elbow grease and a 'can-do' attitude we can- Oof!"

Seahawke was interrupted when the chameleon turned around and wrapped their arms around him, natural instinct made him return the hug and pat them softly on the back.

"It's perfect!" Double Trouble exclaimed, "I can sleep in the dressing rooms, set up my things on stage, get a secretary to work in the box office. It'll be wonderful! Thank you so much for doing this!"

"Yes... well..." Seahawke stuttered, "It's really Princess Mermista you should be thanking. Which reminds me... there's something she wanted me to tell you about how to pay her back. There's some work she wanted you to do here for free."

"Oh, don't worry," Double Trouble said, "Her therapy and your acting lessons are going to be officially pro bono while I'm staying here. But I might need some time to shore up some cash to actually start paying rent. Most of my regular clients were in Brightmoon."

"Oh, no, it's not for us," Seahawke said, "I don't know if you know this, but Princesses tend to be exceptionally wealthy. No, she's wondering if you could spend your talents helping some of the poorer citizens here who might not be over everything that happened during the war."

"I see," Double Trouble says, "So Mermista wants me to start a support group for old vets with PTSD or something? That seems uncharacteristically caring for her."

"She's mostly worried about how the integration is going on between the old horde soldiers coming here for work and the survivors from Hordak's attack," Seahawke explained, "Opening old wounds and all that."

"Yeah, I can see how that can make things kinda dicey," Double Trouble said, "Still, I'm proud of her for wanting to do right by her kingdom."

"Yesss, I don't know if I should be saying this..." Seahawke groaned, "She's trying not to show it, but that whole attempt on her life thing really spooked her. I guess it spooked all of us, to tell you the truth. That's why she's become so obsessed lately trying to find out who did it and why. Honestly, who could do such a thing?"

"I mean, the princesses spent their whole lives fighting the Horde," Double Trouble explained, "Then they sort of became the Horde themselves. It's not unnatural for people to feel somewhat betrayed by that."

"But after everything they did to help people," Seahawke gasped, "The people they rescued, the lives they saved. How could all that goodwill just be callously cast aside?"

"I think you might be overestimate how much the Princess Alliance had a personal impact on everyone's day to day lives," Double Trouble theorized, "For most people, it was just a war that destroyed their homes and killed their friends and family. It didn't really matter what side did what."

"If only there was a way to show everyone how it was from our perspective," Seahawke said, climbing up onto the stage to start clearing off the dusty debris, "Some kind of way to give a message out to a large number of people at once, to tell my sweet Mermista's side of the story. Maybe in a way that involves singing and dancing so that can be entertaining in a way that sticks in people's hearts and minds. But as far as I can tell, no such method exists."

Seahawke posed dramatically in the beam of light shining on the stage, stroking his chin in thought.

"Seahawke..." Double Trouble groaned, "Did you want me to help you produce a musical play about She-Ra and the Princesses of Power?"

"A musical?" Seahawke muttered, "Why, what a splendid idea! I wish I had thought of it..."

"Alright..." sighed Double Trouble, pulling out an audio recorder, "But if we're going to do this, we're going to need to step up your acting lessons so you know what your getting into. I can get started right now if you want. Are you ready to begin?"

"Always!" shouted Seahawke as he pointed dramatically at the ceiling.

~*~

DT's notes

Seahawke, Lesson 2  
-Had an unexpected session with Seahawke today  
-Feels the Princesses have been getting the short end of the stick in terms of public relations.  
-Side note for Mermista: Discuss her own Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in our next session, whenever that is.  
-I'm going to have to go through all my previous notes to get a script together  
-Went over stage positioning, makeup and the challenges of performing onstage for an audience.  
-We're going to need sets, costumes, a composer, a lyricist, auditions for actors who can sing and dance,  
-Seahawke seems very motivated today, we went through a lot of things and he seems to be catching on quickly.  
-I actually feel really excited about this new project, I hope it lasts.


	40. Glimmer, 1st Analysis

"I don't need a bodyguard!" Glimmer shouted from her throne at the Catgirl and two Horde clones kneeling in front of her, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

"This is only a temporary measure until we can be certain of your safety, your Majesty," Catra explained, gesturing to the clone on her right, "Tau Upsilon is a consummate professional with a long record in protecting high value targets. You won't even know he's here."

The clone grunted in recognition as Glimmer took a long frowning look at him from her throne. Tau Upsilon appeared to be one of the older veterans, judging from his stoic vigilant pose and the large number of burns and scars that adorned his bald and wrinkly gray head, one of which drew across his damaged left eye. Glimmer returned her gaze to the blue skinned clone with red eyes and the brown furred catgirl beside him.

"I don't care if he screams bloody murder at all hours of the day!" Glimmer argued, "I don't need some ugly Hordak creep hounding over my every movement."

"What movement?" Catra hissed under her breath, "The only times I've seen you get off that stupid chair are when you poof into royal kitchens to grab more snacks..."

"What did you say?" Glimmer asked loudly.

"I said that this is more important than just your own worthless life!" Catra shouted, getting up from her knell to stand proudly, "If a single runestone princess dies, then everything we went through will be for nothing; and we almost lost all of them in a single night because of our stupid carelessness! I'm sorry, Sparkles, but this isn't a request. You are getting a new babysitter whether you like it or not!"

Glimmer's fist slammed against the arm of her throne as she made a noise that could have possibly approximated a human being but more closely resembled a razor-toothed chippit from Beast Island. As Catra bent back down into her kneel, Glimmer closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Excuse me for a second," Glimmer said before disappearing into a cloud of pink dust.

The three Horde officers remained kneeling before the empty throne as they awaited their Queen's return. As Tau Upsilon examined the room in nervous confusion, Theta Rho's eyes narrowed at Catra who was staring silently at the chair in front of her.

"Are you certain that was the most... tactful method of communicating our intentions?" Theta Rho critiqued.

"Trust me," Catra said, holding a finger up to the general, "It's like ripping off a bandage. The sooner Sparkles realizes who's really in charge, the better it will be for all of us in the long run."

"The Queen does not strike me as someone who appreciates a loss of control in her life," Tau Upsilon commented, "It may be counterproductive to force this on her."

"She'll get over it," Catra groaned, "She's going to scream and yell for a bit on the roof where no one can hear her, quickly grab something to eat to calm herself down, think of some meaningless concession we need to give her in order to make it look like she has some choice in the matter, and then we'll have what we want. The important thing here is that I look like the bad guy that's forcing the two of you together so she thinks that you're being screwed over just as much as she is. Nothing brings people together better than a common enemy. So act like this assignment is beneath you, but you're following orders like a good soldier."

"Hmm..." Tau Upsilon growled, "I do not believe that deception would not take much effort to maintain on my part..."

"Good..." Catra sighed, "Less work for me then..."

An uncomfortable silence permeated the room until Glimmer finally returned, appearing in flash of pink and purple, right where she was sitting not a minute ago.

"Alright..." Queen Glimmer sighed, discretely wiping some icing off her cheek and into her mouth, "The Kingdom of Brightmoon will accept these *temporary* security measures for the continued safety of Etheria. But I have a list of conditions."

Theta Rho raised an eyebrow at Catra who looked back at him with a proud smirk.

"One," Glimmer listed, "He leaves the room whenever I tell him to. No watching me sleep, bathe or go to the bathroom."

"Absolutely, your Majesty," Tau Upsilon responded, suppressing a small shudder as he forced the picture out of his head.

"Two," continued Glimmer, "He's responsible for maintaining his own quarters while staying here. You are fortunate the guest room has just recently been vacated."

"That's the closest thing Brightmoon has to a dungeon," Catra whispered at Tau Upsilon, "I think you'll like it in there."

"And finally..." Glimmer groaned loudly, choosing to ignore Catra's snarking, "Whenever he is outside his quarters in the castle, he is to be accompanied by an escort of my own personal guards. You are to work with them whenever possible."

"Now, hold on a min-oop!" Catra called out, getting up from her kneel to point at Glimmer again before she was swiftly grabbed by the tail and pulled flat on her bottom against the floor.

"The Horde is perfectly willing to work cooperatively with Brightmoon in the interest of peace," Theta Rho interrupted over Catra's objections, before finally letting go of her tail, "We appreciate you taking the time to discuss this serious matter with us."

"Good..." declared Glimmer, "If there is no other business, you are all dismissed."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Tau Upsilon stated, standing up to respectfully bow to the Queen, "I will begin making preparations at once."

As the Horde soldier turned to leave the throne room, Catra and Theta Rho silently bowed to Queen Glimmer and followed after him.

"I must admit that she reacted much differently then I would have predicted," Theta Rho whispered to Catra, "At first, I was worried you had overplayed your hand, but it appears I have underestimated you."

"Yeah, I get that alot," Catra groaned wearily, "Don't touch the tail again. Ever."

"My apologies, Director," Theta Rho offered, bending over slightly with his claw over his chest, "It will not happen again."

"Alright then," Catra sighed, "If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare my squad for our operation into the Whispering Woods."

"What about the security arrangements for the other princesses?" Theta Rho asked.

"I told you," said Catra, "Glimmer is the key to keeping Etheria in line. Getting her to accept a handler was the hard part. But now that her protection has been dealt with, it won't take much to get all the other princess to follow suit."

"And the She Ra?" Theta Rho grumbled.

"I deal with Adora before we leave," Catra explained, "I just need some time to figure out how to smooth it over with her..."

~*~

First Analysis of the Brightmoon Queen for Horde General Theta Rho  
Horde Sergeant Tau Upsilon reporting

-New assignment from Alien Care and Control, First introductions today  
-Subject is resistant to a new overseer, exhibits signs of fear, aggression and a need for dominance  
-Behavior suggests pacifying methods of integration would work best; avoid direct eye contact, allow the creature to be aware of my presence at all times and wait for it to approach me before interacting  
-Possible diagnosis of an inferiority complex, will require further examination  
-Compulsive eating disorder, may be able to exploit this in order to ingratiate myself into it's good graces  
-I am somewhat confused by the Director's methods of diplomacy, will need to do further research into properly understanding Etherian culture  
-So far subject has shown resistant but not actively antagonistic towards Horde control, will continue to closely monitor for signs of sedition  
-Am expecting this assignment will achieve better results than my previous handling of the Zebesian Plasma Dragon, but remain cautious


	41. Hordak, Session 6

"I hope the trip here wasn't too much of an inconvenience for you," Double Trouble said reassuringly, correcting their sunglasses, "But I think a change in scenery might just be for the best in this point of the process. So, how are you feeling?"

"To be perfectly honest with you," Hordak stated calmly, lying down on a rubber beach lounger, "This location is hardly what I would consider 'relaxing', given the history of this place and my impact on it in particular."

"Well, I'd say that depends on how you choose to look at things," Double Trouble explained, writing down on their notepad, "I think it's important to examine how much progress Salineas has made in rebuilding thanks to your help."

Double Trouble gestured across the sandy beach they were sitting on, to the busy docks full of fishing ships, to the intricate stone masonry of Mermista's palace.

"Entrapta was the one responsible for helping rebuild the Sea Gate," Hordak admitted, "I only convinced the Princesses to accept her help. Hardly equivalent to the destruction I had incurred to these people in the first place."

"Well, it's a start at least," Double Trouble sighed, quickly flipping back to their previous notes, "How about we talk about something else? During our last meeting, I noticed you and your brother had an interesting discussion about a man named... Keldor, I believe it was."

"What about him?" Hordak growled.

"I curious about your history in dealing with other people before Etheria," Double Trouble stated, "And there don't appear to be many people with actual names in the greater Horde in my experience."

"Keldor is not a member of the Horde any more than the Princesses are," Hordak explained, "He was an alien asset I had picked up from a backwater world on the far reaches of space. Frankly 'asset' is a far too generous description of him."

"How did that happen?" Double Trouble queried, writing down on their notepad.

"He had somehow managed to broadcast a message directly to our ship as we were passing by his world," answered Hordak, "Keldor was a prince of the planet Eternia, who asked for our help in usurping his older brother. I think his name was Randy or something. In return for our assistance, he promised the Horde a source of unfathomable power held in the royal castle, Greathall, I believe it was called. The fact that he managed to find and contact us at all was a minor miracle, given the primitive culture we observed from our orbital scans. I was sent down to investigate and, at my discretion, help facilitate Eternia's 'regime change'."

Hordak sighed for a second as he paused to recollect his thoughts. Double Trouble continued scribbling on their notepad

"Keldor used our weapons, our armor and our equipment to bolster his troops and stormed Castle Greathall," Hordak continued, "Only to be stopped when a magic spell he had prepared literally blew up in his face. The stupid wizard melted the skin off his own head. His troops retreated and brought him before me. I repaired the damage as best I could but my knowledge of Eternian biology was... lacking to say the least, and the nature of magic is still something of a mystery to the Horde. Needless to say Keldor was not as grateful for my medical care as I had hoped. Apparently, he was considered very handsome by Eternian standards and so he swore vengeance against me for his own incompetence."

"So it sounds like things didn't end on the best note between you two," Double Trouble observed, "So what happened after that?"

"The operation on Eternia had been deemed a failure," Hordak recounted, "Keldor grovelled before Horde Prime and pledged his loyalty to the Horde. I recommended the Horde abandon Eternia and was promptly reassigned. I was thankful to be as far away from that miserable creature."

Double Trouble continued to write on their notepad as Hordak laid back and closed his eyes.

"My ears still hurt from having to listen to his ceaseless... petulant... whining..." Hordak said, before he began wheezing in a high pitched shriek, "'You shall pay for this, Hordak, you bumbling boob!' Every waking moment with 'Eternia should have been mine, you Nosferatu nincompoop!' By the Horde, I should have just let him die."

"Hordak?" Double Trouble said, "I thought Horde clones weren't allowed to have names."

"It was what Keldor chose to call me," Hordak explained, "Apparently, Horde Unit Alpha Kappa One Three One Four Five was too much for the ignorant wizard to remember. So he chose to refer to me as 'Horde Ay Kay' for short, which soon morphed into simply Horde-Ak."

"So you were working together for some time then?" Double Trouble deduced, writing down another note.

"We had... an arrangement," Hordak sighed, "Horde Prime was just as curious about the Eternian's magical powers as he was of our technology. So I was ordered to participate in a cultural exchange... and he learned far more about me than I ever wanted anyone else to..."

"You are referring to your... quirks?" Double Trouble guessed.

"Now that I think back on it," Hordak muttered to himself, "All of this happened very shortly before my genetic defects were revealed to Horde Prime. If I didn't know any better, one might have thought Keldor had found some way to pay me back for his disfigurement. Never trust a magician, I suppose."

"Mmm-hmm," Double Trouble mumbled, "Tell me, Hordak. Did you ever apologize for disfiguring his face?"

Hordak's eyes narrowed at their therapist.

"I saved the man's life!" Hordak roared, "It was the result of his own stupid mistake! He should be thanking me for every second he spends breathing!"

"But that came at a cost," Double Trouble explained, "One I don't think he expected to pay. Even if it was his fault, Mr. Keldor appears to have gone through a very traumatizing experience. Now I don't fault you for trying to help him, but afterwards don't you think you could have tried showing a little bit of empathy for his situation."

"I highly doubt that anything I could have done would have changed Keldor's disposition," Hordak grumbled, "The man was an entitled petulant child who would never take responsibility for his own actions."

"Possibly," Double Trouble said, "But we'll never know if we don't try."

Double Trouble's lecture was interrupted by a blustering roaring wind creating a small tornado of sand around them. The roar grew louder as a large shadow fell over them. Double Trouble covered their faced and looked up at the large red aircraft that flew over top of them towards the dockyard.

"I think that's a good place to end our session," Double Trouble stated, picking up their scattered things and putting them back in their bag, "Until next time?"

"Yes," Hordak said, getting up to leave, "Until next time."

~*~

DT's Notes

Hordak, Session 6  
-My first client to come to Salineas is Hordak, hopefully there won't be anymore family interruptions this time.  
-Uncomfortable with the new digs, still feels shame and guilt for the destruction of Salineas  
-Dismissive of the Progress he's made, baby steps...  
-Following up on Keldor from our last session  
-Claims Keldor is another 'asset' of the Horde, like the princesses  
-Wanted to hire Hordak to help him kill his brother, stuff like this is why I just don't trust royals  
-Keldor blames Hordak for losing his face after a botched lifesaving surgery, no good deed goes unpunished  
-Keldor named Hordak, and he kept the name when he came to Etheria... sounds like they might have been much closer than he is willing to admit  
-Paranoia, Lack of Empathy, Entitlement, Delusions of Grandeur sounds like Keldor and Hordak have quite a lot in common.  
-WHAT IN ETHERIA IS SCORPIA DOING HERE?!


	42. Another Message from the Author

So I've come to a sort of non-decision, I actually wanted to post this yesterday but didn't want April Fools to confuse my message. Thank you all for your input and your opinions, it was a really helpful in letting me see what you wanted to get out of this story. Because of this, I'm going to try to continue the story until Season 5 comes out and hopefully past that until I finish.

What I'm worried mainly is reconciling the vision in my head of where these character will go with what the show presents, which is why I hoped to finish this before the next season came out. If it gets too difficult for me and I find myself unable to continue, I will post a final chapter summarizing how I intended to end the series, how all the character arcs were going to turn out, and hopefully answer any questions you all might have had.

If it does come to that, I'm probably going to try writing Catra Goes to the Good Place next, since that was the only story idea I got any feedback on.

Thanks again for all your feedback and I hope you are all taking care of each other during the zombie apocalypse we're going through right now.


	43. Mermista's Journal, Day 2

Saw a shark beached on the shore as I looked out the viewport window on my way back home. Blasted thing got caught in a fishing net and suffocated. This kingdom is afraid of me. I've seen it's true face. People who had their homes destroyed forced to work with the people who destroyed them. Whole city is a powder keg ready to explode. One spark is all it takes for us to start watching another short rerun of the war we just got finished fighting. The bad blood is going clot over all drains and gullies in Etheria and drown everyone in the firey rain of armageddon and genocide while the Horde simply moves on to another world to conquer and destroy without a care in the universe. And when the same citizens who blame the princesses for all their problems will shout up to us, 'Save us!', I will look back down at them and say... 'Uggh, do I have to?'

"You've awfully quiet this whole trip," Scorpia notes as she piloted the transport down to the docks, "You doing alright?"

"I'm fine," I lie, putting on my coat and hat before I step out into the torrential rain, "Just thinking about the facts behind the case... Also I'm practicing keeping my running monologue internal for a change."

"Wow, you can do that?" Scorpia says with genuine admiration, following behind me in a nicely tailored suit and tiny bowler hat she got in Brightmoon, "I usually just say things as soon as they pop in my head. It's kinda why I got kicked out of Horde Special Intelligence and reassigned by Shadow Weaver to work with Catra. Did you know you were my first assignment with her? Yeah, that feels like a lifetime ago. Hard to believe the first time we met was you hitting me with a tidal wave into the ocean while your boyfriend kamakaze'd his boat into our ship and I had to drag Catra all the way to the Fright Zone on my back because she couldn't swim. Now look at us. Working together... solving mysteries... fighting crime..."

Scorpia wasn't the most discrete partner when it came to being a detective, but I needed some extra muscle to have my back for when things got rough. And a dockside bar after dark is one of the roughest places in Salineas. A couple nights ago, someone tried to poison all the princesses at a birthday party with Potassium Cyanide. Somebody here knows why. Potassium Cyanide was used as a last resort suicide pill by the officers in Hordak's horde. There were plenty here who came after the war ended looking for work on the fishing boats. I was hoping to have a talk with one. I pretended not to notice the looks I got as I went into the joint. I just calmly walked over to the bar and took a stool.

"Hey, Barkeep!" I shout at the rugged old woman polishing glasses, "Two beers."

"Oh... um... so..." Scorpia whispers in my ear, "I hate to be that guy, but I don't actually drink. Alcohol, I mean."

"Okay then..." I sigh, "Make that one beer and one sarsaparilla."

"A non-alcoholic sarsaparilla!" Scorpia corrected.

While me and Scorpia waited for our drinks, we did our best to be conspicuously inconspicuous. I was waiting for someone here to come up and start a conversation, but the fish were cautious about biting. It probably would've gone faster if I didn't have Scorpia sitting right next to me, but I wanted her to scare away the small fries. It was the big lunker I was after. Every good fisherman knows how big a payout you get from a little patience. When I heard a chair scoot and heavy footsteps thump up behind me, I knew I caught one.

"You're in my seat," a sharp female voice growled behind me.

"Am I?" I scoffed, taking a big swig of my glass, "You looked plenty comfortable sitting where you were."

"Oh, don't you know?" the harpy sneered, "All the seats in this bar are *my* seat."

Hook, Line and Sinker. Glass in hand, I spin around in my stool and lean back against the bar. I quickly finish my drink as I examine my catch. Tall, athletic, smooth green skin, pouty fish lips, tentacles coming off her back and a black patch over her right eye.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" I ask as I place the empty glass back on the bar and crane my neck to crack out all the kinks.

I stare down my prey, waiting for her to make the first move. She locks eyes with me and looms over me, inches away from my face. At this moment, I'm ready for anything to go down. Or so I thought at the time. I was kinda planning on things turning more violent than it did to be honest. The whole room was silent apart from the nervous slurps from Scorpia's straw as her eyes repeatedly switch between the two of us. Finally, it's the cyclops who blinks. Or winks, it's hard to tell with one eye.

"Haha!" the sailor laughs as she pats me on the shoulder, "You're alright, Princess. Hey, Agnes! One drink for the lady who knocked some sense into Catra with a metal club upside her head! On me!"

"Force Captain Octavia!" Scorpia remarked, "Wow, I haven't seen you since Amphibious Operations Training."

"Oh, is that you, Scorpia?" the sailor asks as she turns to my partner, "Gosh, what has it been? 10 years? My, how you've grown... Last I saw you, you were yay high."

Octavia held a tentacle just above her waist.

"By the way, it's just Captain Octavia now," the sailor corrected, "I run a fishing boat now."

~*~

We talk for the better part of the night. Most of it is Scorpia catching up on her old life in the Horde, Octavia shows me a video someone recorded of how the baseball game ended. Someone added cartoon sound effects to the video. Scorpia is unimpressed. Octavia finds it hilarious.

"And the game is over in two hits," Octavia narrates as her tablet shows Catra falling face first in the mound, "You hitting Catra and Catra hitting the ground. Haha."

"You know... I don't really find this funny," Scorpia grumbled, "I heard Catra still can't hear properly in her left ear."

"Your right... that's even better," Octavia laughs, tapping her eyepatch, "She takes my eye and loses her ear. Karma's a pain, ain't it?"

"Wait, Catra took out your eye?" I ask, "How did that happen? Did you embarrass her in front of Hordak or something?"

"No, this happened when she was six," Octavia told me, "Catra wasn't happy with how Amphibious Operations Training was going and took it out on me. I heard that Shadow Weaver took over for me after I refused to continue training her and Adora. Apparently, Adora got better over time, Catra didn't."

I chuckle at myself as I picture Shadow Weaver in a one piece bathing suit and a flower patterned shower cap teaching a six-year old Adora how to swim while Catra frantically flailed in the water behind them, trying not to drown.

"Yeah, she really didn't..." Scorpia commented.

"So, while I've got you here," I interject, trying to get back to work, "I was wondering if I could ask you some questions."

"Yeah, okay," Octavia says, leaning back in her chair and taking a swig out of her bottle, "Shoot."

"What do you know about Princess Frosta's birthday party?" I ask.

"Frosta?" Octavia repeated, "She's the snow princess, right? What did you want me to give you gift ideas or something?"

"Someone tried to poison her birthday cake a couple nights ago," I tell her, "Do you know anyone who would have it out for all the princesses in Etheria?"

"I mean, that's a pretty big list, isn't it?" Octavia says, "Isn't there a whole resistance movement in the Whispering Woods plotting to overthrow you?"

"We're looking for people with access to Potassium Cyanide," Scorpia explains, "Mermista and I think it might have been someone who used to be high up in Hordak's old Horde."

"Like a Force Captain..." Octavia said, finishing Scorpia's thought, "I'm not a suspect, am I?"

"Not a likely one," I tell her, "Your ship reports being nowhere near the Kingdom of the Snows during the incident."

"We need a list of all the old Force Captains including anyone else who was in charge of sensitive information in the Horde," Scorpia continues, "My files were disavowed by Catra after I defected to the Princess Alliance, and you've been with the Horde since before the fall of Elberon."

Scorpia was talking about the Old Kingdom of the Butterflies, which used to border Horror Hall. It was one of the first Kingdoms Hordak openly attacked in his rise to power. The royal family wasn't very popular and didn't have many allies, so the other kingdoms didn't pay it much notice when the Horde rolled over them. It's said the peasants cheered when King Malcolm the Wirey was brought back to the Fright Zone in chains. Hordak ordered him shipped out to Beast Island and he was never seen again. The queen went into hiding before the final assault, presumed dead. Princess Flutterina makes an appearance now and again when she can be guaranteed protection on neutral ground, like the Princess Prom. But now all that's left of Elberon is a tiny village with a few stragglers. If the other Kingdoms had bothered to act back then, we probably could have ended the war before it even started.

"Hmm..." Octavia sighs, stroking their chin in thought, "Yeah, okay. I've got some old files in my cabin that might help you guys. My ship's not too far away. Stay here, and I'll be right back."

Octavia scoots her chair and gets up from the table, leaving me and Scorpia alone to chat.

"Did you want me to follow her?" Scorpia asks.

"Don't worry. I've got someone on it," I assure her, "What did you think of her?"

"Well, we didn't see much of each other after I transferred over to Horde Intelligence," Scorpia recollects, "But I don't think she's our guy. She would have really stood out at the party if she was there."

"I'm not talking about the case," I say to her, "Look... girl... I know how hard things can get after a bad breakup. And you seemed to be getting on pretty friendly with her. So..?"

"Well, yeah, I'm friendly with everyone, but I don't see what my breakup has to do with-" Scorpia began before she finally realized what I was talking about, "No! Absolutely not. I mean, she's old enough to be my mom."

"Really?" I say in surprise, "Because if that's the case, then Mommy has been taking *really* good care of herself. You sure you're not into that?"

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, really," Scorpia said, "But I'm really not ready to get back into the dating pool just yet. I just wanna help with the case, okay?"

"Yeah, that's okay, I get it," I tell her, "Just wanted to remind you that there are plenty of fish in the sea... as well as a few actual fish. Also, I want you to get the first chance at dibs."

I leave Scorpia to finish her drink as I go outside and wait by the docks. The rain is beautiful on the ocean shore, almost makes up for the smell of fresh fish and burning smoke from the gigantic Horde ships in the harbor. I let myself relax for a moment when some creep in a sailor's raincoat walks up behind me.

"My, my," the loser says, "What is a beautiful princess like you doing in a run down place like this?"

As soon as he gets close enough, I spin around and clock him right between his pretty blue eyes, breaking his nose and spilling blood all over his fancy mustache. Oh, damn it.

"Seahawke?!" I gasp, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be tailing that Force Captain who just left the bar!"

"I'm thorry," Seahawke apologizes, holding his mouth in his hands, "I lotht 'er wheb thee jubbed into the wadder. Dat's why I came bat to dell you."

Great, so much for that plan. Looks like our little fishy is going to be the one who got away. I thought this was going too easy. I should have seen this coming. Of course, no one would wanna be caught dead snitching to the princesses.

"Hold still," I order Seahawke.

"Whad are you-?" Seahawke says before I pull his nose back into place, "Yeaowch! Ahem... Thank you."

"Let's get back inside..." I suggest, "I'm going to need a much stronger drink."

We go back to the bar and Seahawke gets to preach the virtues of the single life to Scorpia while I try to figure out where to go from here. The other Princesses think the case is hopeless, that it could have been one of any number of political revolutionaries with an axe to grind. Even if we did find out who it was, they would probably be long gone by now, just another unknown face in the crowd. Scorpia and Seahawke are only here for the fun of it. Is that why I'm here? Fun? A way to distract myself from the crushing ennui of our imminent destruction? No. Even at the end of the world, there is good and there is evil. And evil can not be allowed to get away with trying to hurt people. There must be no compromises on this. Before I finish my third drink of the night, a dripping wet hand places a data crystal on the bar.

"Sorry, I took so long," Octavia says, sitting down beside me, "I had to lose some skeevy pervert who was following me."

It takes me a few minutes to register what is happening as she slides the data crystal towards me. I pick it up to examine it.

"Umm... Wow... uh... Thanks?" I manage to sputter out, "Sorry... that came out way more sarcastic then I intended."

"Yeah, it's fine," Octavia says as picks up my drink to take a sip, "So are we done here?"

"Pretty much..." I reply, taking a moment to get my confidence back, "So, hey... Did you wanna get out of here?"

Octavia gives me the side eye with her one eye, obviously caught off guard by my proposition.

"Maybe when your older, Kid..." Octavia tells me as she gets up to leave.

I pocket the data crystal and finish my drink. I got what I needed, it was time to go home and get some rest. I had a long list of suspects to interview in the morning.


	44. Shadow Weaver, 1st Analysis

Shadow Weaver was kneeling in the brown soil, pulling weeds out of her garden when she heard the door of her gazebo creak open. She stood up to wipe the dirt off of her robes and compose herself before greeting the visitor. When she turned around, her eyes widened in surprise at the familiar batlike face and glowing red eyes staring back at her.

"Good morning, Sorceress" the blue faced clone apologized, "I hope I am not intruding."

"Oh, o-of course not," Shadow Weaver stuttered, bowing gracefully to her guest, "How can I be of service to the Horde?"

"Please do not inconvenience yourself on my account. I just thought we might have a nice little... chat..." the clone explained, carefully cradling a rose bud in his hands so examine it, "You see, I am a visitor to your world and it occurs to me that you might have unique insight to offer on matters of the Etherian political landscape."

"I doubt you would find *my* insight to be very helpful," Shadow Weaver replied, putting away her gardening sheers.

"Oh, I disagree," the clone argued, "As I am to understand it, you have managed to imprint yourself onto the upbringing of many in Etheria's leadership, both past and present. King Micah, the She-Ra, Queen Glimmer, Director Catra, even my own brother chose to make you one of his closest advisors. A most impressive resume to be sure."

"I think putting Catra in charge was a mistake..." Shadow Weaver glowered, "But what do I know? I'm just an old sorceress, not the ruler of an intergalactic empire."

"I think you judge yourself too harshly," the clone observed, "I'm sure our Emperor would be most interested in your opinion of one of his trusted lieutenants. I myself find a... lower perspective to sometimes be the most enlightening."

The clone walked up closely to the sorceress and casually brushed some dirt off her shoulder.

"I'm sure there are other things you can choose to occupy your time with," Shadow Weaver said, her eyes narrowing at the clone, "Certainly something much more important than me."

"What I decide to be important... is none of your concern," the clone growled softly, "But if you are busy right now I can certainly schedule a meeting between us at a more appropriate hour."

"Oh, no, please sit down," Shadow Weaver offered, conjuring up a small table with two comfortable lawn chairs out of shadows, "Would you care for some tea?"

"I would, thank you," the clone said, taking a seat, "Earl Grey, please, if you can manage it."

Shadow Weaver sat down herself and waved her hand over the table, a large steaming pot and two teacups appearing out of thin air. With another flourish, the teakettle raised off the table on its own accord and poured its contents into the cups. The horde clone picked up one of the cups and brought it up to his nose for a small whiff before taking a sip.

"Lovely," the clone complemented, "Now I am most curious to hear your assessment of our Director of Etherian Affairs. Particularly, why you consider Catra to be such a poor candidate."

"Oh, it's simple really," Shadow Weaver answered, "Catra was little more than a wild animal scavenging in our garbage when I found her and nothing she has done in the many years I looked after her has shown me she is capable of changing from that. She is an insubordinate, ungrateful little pest. She craves power but unwilling to shoulder the responsibility that comes with it. She's vain, greedy, petty, but worst of all, she's lazy. She expects everything in this world to be handed over to her on plate without having to lift a finger to do it."

"Sometimes where others see laziness, I see ingenuity," the clone remarked, taking another sip of tea, "With proper forethought, so called laziness can lead to increased efficiency and, if nothing else, our Emperor does appreciate an efficient colony."

"If you truly believe Catra is capable of that forethought," Shadow Weaver chuckled, "Than all I can do for you is wish you good luck."

"I'd prefer the opposite to be honest," Theta Rho smirked, "A commander that can be foiled by bad luck is unworthy of the Horde. Indeed, it is in those moments of misfortune that a leaders true greatness is revealed and I, for one, hope to understand everything our new director is capable of."

"All I am saying is that if you expect greatness from Catra," Shadow Weaver lectured, "You should prepare for disappointment. She will always be that rabid cur I found in the dumpster all those years ago. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I understand how difficult it is to see past our first impressions of someone," the clone said, flexing his blue claw in front of his face to look at it, "While my brother had the privilege of being able to... conceal his genetic defects, my abnormalities have been all too visible for everyone to see. I am thankful that my mentor and my emperor both managed to see past these differences, but I still have to work hard everyday to earn my position and the respect of my brethren. So forgive me if I feel the need to test your... assessment. But speaking of appearances... yours has greatly peaked my interest. May I take a look at it?"

The clone held out his claw across the table. Shadow Weaver looked at it with cautious concern.

"I don't suppose I have a choice in the matter, do I?" she grumbled.

"Only if you are comfortable, of course," the clone added.

Shadow Weaver eyed the clone suspiciously for a few moments before she gave out a reserved sigh and placed her mask on the table. She hung her head in shame for another moment before looking up. She was surprised to see the clone looking, not at her, but at the mask, which he held in his left claw, tracing over it with the fingers on his right.

"A fascinating design," the clone critiqued, "Did you make this yourself?"

Shadow Weaver nodded, looking at the clone with confusion.

"Forgive me for my ignorance," she said, "I thought you wanted to look at my face."

"My apologies for the misunderstanding," the clone said, smiling as he handed back the mask, "I find it far more useful to examine how one chooses to present themself as opposed to their natural features. First impressions tend to be the most defining, but can vary wildly from actual reality."

"True..." Shadow Weaver said simply, placing the mask back over her face.

"Thank you very much for the tea, my dear Sorceress," the clone said, fixing his uniform as he got up from the table, "I hope we can do this again sometime. I find your company most pleasant."

"I exist to serve," Shadow Weaver stated bowing regally to her guest, "But how rude of me, I haven't even asked you your name."

"Me and my brothers do not have names," the clone replied, "General should suffice."

"Then until our next meeting, General," Shadow Weaver said, raising her cup in toast to her guest.

The clone silently bowed before leaving, quietly closing the door behind him. Shadow Weaver leaned on her elbow and examined the door in quiet contemplation as the kettle raised itself off the table again to pour her another cup of tea.

~*~

First Analysis of the Sorceress, 'Shadow Weaver'  
Horde Unit Theta Rho Reporting

-Interviewed subject under the pretense of discussing her many close relationships with Etheria's ruling elite  
-Appears to have taken to gardening to satisfy her need for order and control  
-As expected, the history between her and Horde Unit AK-13145 presents difficulties in building a working relationship  
-Possesses an unhealthy fixation on the Director, irrational hatred, possible jealousy  
-Despite her cordial affectations, displays a disappointingly rigid and inflexible way of thinking  
-Design of her mask and the natural appearance of her face suggests she chooses to wear it to hide facial expressions and tells from others, presumably in order to better lie and manipulate them.  
-Because of these facts, I suspect none of the intelligence she provides of much actual use in regards to the Director, how unfortunate...  
-Has not displayed any evidence of sedition so far, but her powerful abilities and duplicitous nature suggest that she is not to be trusted, I will continue to monitor closely.


	45. Adora, Session 1

Adora knocked on the door in front of her, only for it to fall off it's hinges onto the floor. She nervously tapped her knuckle against the now open archway as she entered the dusty auditorium.

"Hello?" she called out, "Is anyone there?"

"I'm just backstage!" she heard a smooth voice answer.

Adora walked up the stairway leading up to the raised platform and carefully peaked behind the curtain to see a lizard creature moving around furniture including a familiar fainting couch and big comfy chair. The chameleon took notice of their visitor and gave a wave.

"Oh, hello, Adora!" Double Trouble greeted, "I didn't expect to see you today."

"I'm sorry. You're busy," Adora said, quickly turning away, "I'll come back another time."

"Oh, no, no, no," Double Trouble gasped, running after Adora to grab her hand, "It's no trouble at all. I could use the break. What can I do for you?"

"It's nothing," Adora said, trying to pull away, "I shouldn't have bothered you."

"Nonsense, you're no bother at all," Double Trouble assured her as they wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her to the couch, "Here, just sit down and you can tell me all about it. Coffee?"

"No, thank you," Adora said, sitting down on the couch, "I'm just a little on edge and I don't know who to talk to right now."

"Something happened between you and Catra?" Double Trouble guessed, instinctively sitting down in their chair and pulling out a notepad.

"No!" Adora said loudly, "Well, not exactly. Things are just really weird right now."

"Mmm, hmm?" Double Trouble encouraged.

"I mean, last night she introduces me to this Hordak clone that's supposed to be acting as my bodyguard because the Horde doesn't trust us to look after ourselves after what happened at the birthday party," Adora explained.

"Hmm, interesting," Double Trouble commented, "I'm guessing you feel that is something of an imposition on your privacy and sense of self worth?"

"Well, yeah, kinda," Adora said, "But I kinda figured something like this would happen. The Horde was always going to use this as an excuse to get more hands on with the princesses. No, the weird thing was how Catra decided to spring it onto me. She brings him in our like he's some kind of new pet or something. That's the part I really didn't understand. She was all smiles and excitement like this was a favor she was doing for me, like it wasn't going to be super creepy having him watch our every move. But actually, the creepiest part was when she ordered him to say nice things about us... *as* Hordak. Stuff like 'You were always my favorite Force Captain' or 'I'm so proud of the strong young woman you've become.'"

"I... see..." Double Trouble said, focusing on their notepad as they shuffled uncomfortably in their chair, "What were you doing while all this was happening?"

"I didn't do anything," Adora answered, "I just couldn't believe what was happening, Catra was looking at me like I was supposed to proud of her, like it was a big birthday surprise or something and I should be grateful. I didn't know what to tell her, so I just stood there like an slack jawed idiot. I just wanted to get some sleep, but Catra had other ideas."

"She wanted the two of you to..." Double Trouble suggested coyly.

"While he was still in the room with us..." Adora groaned, "She actually wanted him to watch... That's when I had finally had enough and just said 'No!' Catra finally gets the hint and tells him to buzz off and after he leaves the room, that's when she tells me she's shipping out in the morning to go on a mission for the Horde."

"Did she say what kind of mission?" Double Trouble asked.

"Apparently serious enough that she told me there was a chance she's not coming back," Adora explained, "But I'm pretty sure she's exaggerating to make me feel bad. She didn't tell me, but I'm certain she's headed to the Whispering Woods to go up against Bow's resistance."

"And you don't think they're dangerous?" Double Trouble inferred.

"I mean, you know what Bow was like during the war," Adora said, "He would never hurt anyone if he didn't have to. On every mission we went on together, he always found a way to complete our objectives without a single casualty on either side. I remember when he would spend all his free time in the workshop, building traps and gadgets to incapacitate Horde Soldiers without harming them. Because he cared about everyone, even the people he had to fight."

"You miss him, don't you?" Double Trouble observed.

"Of course I do!" Adora shouted, "I would give anything to be fighting the Horde right along side him! But I have to play nice with the Horde or else the planet gets it!"

Adora sighed wistfully and looks at the broken stage props and costumes that littered the room.

"Catra... Shadow Weaver... even Hordak... they were the only family I had back in the Fright Zone..." Adora whispered, "But Bow and Glimmer? They were my first real friends. Whenever he was around, I felt like I could tell him anything and he would understand, without judgement, without using it against me... That's why I wanted to see you today. Because so much has happened and I need to talk to someone. Anyone. But it can't be Catra or Glimmer or any of the other princesses because, whether they have a choice or not, they are all working for Horde Prime and I can't ask any of them to keep my secrets for me. I need to know that I can trust you with this."

"Adora, I know we didn't get off on the right foot," Double Trouble said, reaching over to place a caring hand over hers, "But I'm very proud that, of everyone else in Etheria, you chose to come to me. And I want you to know that you can trust me to keep everything you tell me during our sessions completely confidential. Now then is there anything else you wanted to talk about before we end our first session?"

"Oh..." Adora gasped, "I'm sorry, I rambled a bit there, didn't I? No, I didn't come here because of all the weird stuff with Catra. I can handle weird. No, I wanted to talk to someone about this."

Adora reached in her pocket and pulled out a small black cube with blue and purple lines of light emanating from inside.

"A box?" Double Trouble guessed.

"Entrapta gave this to me..." Adora explained, "It's a tiny computer that holds whatever was left of Light Hope when I destroyed the sword."

"I'm sorry," Double Trouble apologized, "What's a Light Hope?"

"She's the one who brought me to Etheria," Adora told them, "Light Hope is the one who made me She-Ra."

"You've... just... ," Double Trouble stuttered, "Completely lost me."

"Riiight... I never told you about Light Hope before..." Adora said, rubbing her temples, "This is going to take some explaining. You see, it all started when I first made Force Captain and me and Catra-"

"Look, I'm really sorry, Adora," Double Trouble interrupted, "But to tell you the truth, I just can't get into this right now. I'm going to need to get ready for my next appointment. If you would please, we can schedule a proper time for us to see each other and then, I promise... We will have plenty of time to go over your computer box problems. Would tommorrow afternoon work for you?"

"Uggh..." groaned Adora, getting up from their couch, "Alright, then... see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Good," Double Trouble said, "In the meantime, there's something happening tonight that I think would be right up your alley."

Double Trouble fished through her bag and pulled out a flyer printed out on purple colored paper. They stood up to hand it to Adora, who held it up to her face to look. Double Trouble's amateur drawing and handwriting skills could be easily recognized on it.

"Heroes of the Horde: A Support Group for Veterans of the Etherian Horde War," Adora read aloud, "Come and share your stories to your fellow siblings in arms."

"It's just this thing I'm starting," Double Trouble explained, "It's a space where you're free to talk about what you did during the war to the people who can really understand what your going through, what it meant to grow up in the Horde. Without judgement or using your past against you?"

Adora looked up at her therapist and then back down at the flyer.

"I don't know..." Adora groaned, "I think She-Ra is the last person those guys would want to talk to."

"It's supposed to be anonymous, so you don't have to be 'She-Ra'," Double Trouble suggested, "You can just be Adora, the Force Captain for the Horde who got out. You don't even have to say anything at the meeting, if you don't want to. You could just sit in and listen. To be honest, it's our first meeting tonight and I want to make sure there's enough bodies to make a good first impression. It would be really helping me if you showed up. Just for the first day, and you can see if it might be a good fit for you. There's free coffee and doughnuts?"

Adora stared silently at the flyer for a few moments before handing it back to Double Trouble.

"Yeah, okay," Adora finally said, "It's not like I've got a lot going on right now, anyway."

~*~

DT's Notes

Adora, Session 1

-Adora came into my... "office"..? while I was cleaning up today... A lovely little ball of Body Dismorphia, Martyr and Inferiority Complexities and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder  
-Really reluctant in seeking help, needs encouragement  
-Relationship Troubles with Catra, things took a turn for the weird  
-It seems Catra's Nihlism has morphed into existential hedonism since I've been gone, doing whatever is personally gratifying in the moment, damn the consequences  
-Sidenote: I should really go over Catra's 'Daddy' issues next time I see her, if I do get a chance to see her again.  
-Conversation turned to Bow, apparently, Adora was using him as her own 'therapist' before I came along  
-Feels alone, distrustful of Glimmer, abandoned by Bow and Catra, I think she just needs someone to talk to in a friendly setting  
-Light Hope? Is this some kind of religious thing?  
-Come on DT, you've had this poor girl spilling her entire life story for you and you say you *don't* want to listen to her right now? What is wrong with me?  
-Suggested Adora join the group therapy tonight, fingers crossed that things go well for it


	46. Seahawke, Lesson 3

"You left our monastery to pursue a life of sin and crime," sang an angry nasally voice, "And the worst of all you never write even though I know you have the time. You left the monks... Hey, hey! We're the monks!"

Seahawke was kneeling before a tall, lanky, clean shaven monk with long curly hair and wild eyes who crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in shame away from the young sailor. Double Trouble scribbled away on their notepad on the nearest pew and looked up at the spartan trappings of the seaside monastery of the Brotherhood of Perpetual Refrain.

"I'm sorry, Brother Alfred," Seahawke pleaded, "But I had leave to forge my own path. You know I couldn't stay here forever."

"Your sinful life invokes the First One's Wrath!" argued Brother Alfred the Bizarre, "Did we force you to become a pirate? No, never!"

"I know you didn't approve when I joined up with Captain Scurvy's crew," Seahawke groaned, "But it's not like there were many ships that wanted a sailor who's only talent was knowing how to sing in an acapella group. I appreciate your care for me for those many years, but I never learned any real life skills while I was with you."

"Hoooh!" gasped Brother Alfred in shock, "Archie taught you history, Aggie, how to garden, Eldie how to cook and I, myself, accordion. What could we do? What more could we do?"

"Yes, how could I forget the steamed carrots we had every night?" Seahawke grumbled, "But a man cannot live on bread and water alone! I had to go out and see Etheria for myself. I know you did your best to raise me, like I said, I appreciate everything you've done. But I don't have any regrets for the life I've led."

"Sorry, for interrupting," Double Trouble apologized, "But I'm curious why you, Brother Alfred, insist on singing everything you say?"

"Oh, I can explain that," Seahawke whispered, "All monks of the Holy Order of Perpetual Refrain take a vow of singing when they come of age, all part of their mission to spread song and good cheer to all of Etheria."

"So you do remember what it means to be a monk!" shouted Brother Alfred, pointing an accusatory finger at Seahawke, "Hey, hey! We're the monks!"

The monk flashed a joyful smile as he waved his hands at Double Trouble in a jazzy flourish before quickly returning to their judgemental glare at Seahawke.

"Of course, I do," Seahawke argued, "And I've always took you're teachings to heart, to bring the joy of music wherever I go."

"The path you took has been twisted from the start," Brother Alfred sang, "As one who robs and steals, you will always be my foe! Cause I'm a monk! Hey, hey! I'm a monk!"

"I haven't been with Captain Scurvy for many years now," Seahawke explained, "I kinda got fired... after I... burned down our own ship that one time... well, three times..."

"Wait, you did WHAT?!" shouted Brother Alfred in surprise, taking a second to realize he forgot to sing his question, "Umm, I mean to say... you may have destroyed the pirate's scow, but what have you done to repent for your... time... in... crime... Oh, forget it!"

The monk grabbed the sailor by the collar and pulled him up to his face, which was twitching in anger.

"I KEPT THAT VOW OF SINGING FOR OVER THREE DECADES NOW AND YOU HAD TO GO AND RUIN MY PERFECT STREAK!" screamed Brother Alfred, "YOU JUST SET FIRE TO EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH, DON'T YOU?!"

The monk let go of Seahawke, who fell backwards onto his bottom. Double Trouble watched the monk walk over to one of the far pews in the corner, pull out an accordion from underneath their seat and began playing an angry polka. Seahawke gave Double Trouble a silent look of confusion. Double Trouble simply nudged there head in the monks direction. Seahawke took the hint and picked himself up and carefully walked up to the monk and sat beside him. The monk took in a deep breath and returned the accordion to it's hiding place.

"I'm sorry, Brother," Seahawke apologized, "I didn't mean to make you break your vow."

"It's not your fault, my son..." Brother Alfred sighed, "The First Ones brought you to our doorstep to test us. And I failed... I failed you, my son."

"You didn't fail me!" argued Seahawke, placing a caring hand on the monk's shoulder, "You were always there for me when I needed you. I always looked up to you and tried my best to make do the monks proud. I wouldn't be the man I am today without the Brotherhood of Perpetual Refrain. And I know you may not approve, but I, for one, am proud of that man."

"So, my son..." Brother Alfred asked wearily, "Have you truly given up your life of sin?"

"Yes! I've been helping She-Ra and the Princesses of Etheria to fight the vile Horde that has taken over our world!" Seahawke cheered proudly, "It is a life of daring adventure and romance and heroism!"

"The She-Ra has returned!" Brother Alfred gasped in surprise, "Wow, I must be really out of touch! We have been awaiting the She-Ra's return our entire lives! And you've met her?!"

"Well, the monastery isn't exactly the easiest place to get to..." Seahawke coughed, "But yes, I've fought by She-Ra's side during the Battle of the Sea Wall! The daring infiltration into the Fright Zone to rescue Princess Glimmer! The siege of Brightmoon! The... umm... second Battle of Sea Wall..."

"Ahem!" Double Trouble grunted loudly.

"Oh, that's right!" Seahawke remembered, " You see. That's why I came here today. Me and my good friend here want to tell the story of our exploits, so all of Etheria could see and understand what the Princesses have gone through."

"Well, I really appreciate you coming over to catch up with us," Brother Alfred said, "But I'm sure there are much faster ways of showing all of Etheria than going door to door to a seaside monastery in the middle of nowhere."

"No, no, you misunderstand," Seahawke chuckled, "We're putting together a musical to stage in the old Opera House, and I want the Brotherhood of Perpetual Refrain to help us write the music for it! If you... want to... of course..."

"Oh, my child!" Brother Alfred sniffled, "I can think of no better way to serve our fellow man! I am proud of you, Seahawke!"

"Oh, Brother Alfred..." Seahawke cried, hugging the monk who raised him, "I'm so happy to hear you say that."

The two men wept loudly as they both hugged each other on the pew.

"Okay..." Brother Alfred said, wiping a tear from his eye, "I shall summon the others for their assistance in this most glorious mission!"

The monk composed himself and picked up his accordion before getting up from the pew and calmly walking out the back door. Seahawke took a deep breath and walked over to Double Trouble.

"Well, I think that went as well as could be expected," Seahawke observed.

"So, are you sure these folks are gonna be alright?" Double Trouble asked worryingly, "They seem a little... out there."

"Oh, ho! But of course!" Seahawke exclaimed, "Music is their life! I can think of no better in Etheria to help us with our grand task!"

"HEY, GUYS! PACK UP YOUR GARBAGE!" a loud nasally voice could be heard shrieking from outside, "WE GOT A GIG!"

~*~

DT's Notes

Seahawke, Lesson 3

-Recruiting our songwriters and lyricists today, hope things go well.  
-Seahawke waited until we were literally just outside the monastery doors to tell me he hasn't spoken or written to these people since he left this place as a teenager.  
-I was hoping this would be a break from psychiatry, but apparently I'm stuck having to mediate another family dispute.  
-Not gonna lie, me and the church don't have the best relationship right now... what with my 'sinful' ways and all, I should probably just say as little as possible.  
-Apparently, Brother Alfred got his eyesight fixed at some point, he looks very different from Seahawke's old photos.  
-His voice is kinda annoying, I sorta hope he doesn't want any of the parts in return for helping us write our songs.  
-So far, so good. Still kinda worried about what might happen if they find out Seahawke isn't as... straight laced as they think he is.  
-I just realized, I got to meet Seahawke's parents before Mermista... I'm sure that's going to go over well when she finds out...  
-And for some reason, I've been losing track of what day of the week it is. I guess being cooped up by myself for the past couple of days isn't doing my mental health any favors.


	47. Entrapta, Session 1

"So, I haven't seen you in a while," Double Trouble commented as Entrapta flung herself onto the couch.

"Yeah, Hordak told me I shouldn't be seeing you," Entrapta explained, "Actually, if you could not tell him I'm here to check up on how he's doing, I'd really appreciate it. He's really self conscious about his treatment."

"Yeah, I can see why you'd think that," Double Trouble observed, as they wrote down another note, "But you should know by now that I'm not in the habit of divulging my patients privileged information without their knowledge or consent."

"Oh, really?" Entrapta asked, her hair deflating with disappointment, "I just wanted to get a general idea of how he's been doing. It's just that... well..."

Entrapta suddenly went silent and began nervously chewing on a strand of her hair.

"Is everything alright?" Double Trouble asked with concern, writing down a note on their notepad, "You know you can still talk to me about any of problems you've been having, right?"

Entrapta folded her arms and closed her visor, letting out a painful yelp as it shut over the strand of hair near her face.

"Entrapta," Double Trouble said sternly, "...is Hordak hurting you in any way?"

"No!" Entrapta denied firmly, "Absolutely not! I'm just worried about him."

"Why are you worried?" Double Trouble asked, writing down another note, "Try to think of what specifically is making you concerned."

"Haaack..." Entrapta gasped painfully, "It's because I think he's losing his brain! He's started getting weird mood swings, he keeps forgetting names and dates, he's been getting clumsy around the lab equipment. Last night, he had a twenty minute conversation with someone called Evelyn. I asked him who he was talking to, he said he thought he was talking to me. I don't even know who Evelyn is!"

"Hmm..." Double Trouble said, continuing to write on their notepad, "There can be many causes for a mental decline. Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with his species' physiology. I'm assuming he doesn't drink alcohol or take any mind affecting drugs?"

"Herk!" Entrapta groaned at that last word, her body tensing up like it was struck with a needle, "Weeelll... Ac... tu... ally..."

"Oh, wow..." Double Trouble gasped in surprise, "Hordak? Really? What has he been taking? He doesn't seem like the kind of person who does weed or coke. But opiods and painkillers might be a strong possibility. Could it be Midiclorians? It's Midiclorians, isn't it?"

"No! It's not anything recreational!" Entrapta shouted, "It's an amnestic I developed to make him forget a few hours out of the day."

"An amnestic?" Double Trouble repeated, "Why are you making him take an amnestic?"

"Because Horde Prime is regularly scanning his brain," Entrapta answered, "He can't read Hordak's thoughts, but he can tell everything he's seen, heard, smelled... touched..."

Entrapta grabbed her arms and gave a small shudder as Double Trouble continued writing.

"Hordak just wants a few hours where he could be himself again," Entrapta continued, "Where he doesn't have to have his every moment watched like a prisoner... I thought my formula would be safer than having him get blackout drunk every night. But if the side effects are causing him to lose his mind than I have to put a stop to it, don't I?"

"What have you been giving him?" Double Trouble asked, "Has it even been clinically tested?"

"No..." Entrapta admitted, "But when he starts taking the drug, his mood brightens almost immediately. He gets to be honest with me about everything without having to second guess himself. Every night, he would tell me how much he loves me like he was admitting it to me for the first time. Because from his point of view, it was. It makes us both so happy, so it can't be that bad, can it? I don't know if I want things to go back to the way they were. I don't want to lose him again..."

As Entrapta grabbed her knees and curled into a ball, Double Trouble noticed the clear liquid leaking out the bottom of her visor and dribbling off her chin. Double Trouble transformed as the stood up and walked up to their couch.

"Entrapta..." Hordak said, as their claw caressed the side of their mask, "What is the definition of love?"

"Love falls under a number of descriptors," Entrapta recited like a computer, turning her head away to avert her gaze, "It can refer to a wide variety of strong emotional attachments between two or more people, as well as the base physical act of reproduction or simulated reproduction. But most religious groups define it as what it means to want what is best for another."

"Good..." Hordak encouraged, "Tell me, Entrapta... What do you think is best for me?"

Entrapta looked up into Hordak's eyes and opened up her visor to show the tears streaming down her cheeks from her watery eyes and mucus coming out of her nose.

"Why does the Horde have to do this to us again?!" Entrapta shrieked, wrapping her arms around Hordak's shoulders, "I HATE IT! I HATE THIS!"

"I know..." Hordak said, returning her hug, "I do, too. But all we can do is what is best for each other. I'm so sorry, Entrapta..."

Entrapta continued to cried loudly into Hordak's chest as they silently held her in their arms.

~*~

DT's Notes

Entrapta, Session 1  
-First solo session with Entrapta today, seems distressed  
-First impressions suggest she is somewhere on the Autism spectrum which, coupled with a highly sheltered childhood, resulted in a deep unfamiliarity with social cues and norms  
-Interesting note on her physiology: Apparently her hair has nerve endings that can feel pain, must be why she keeps it so long.  
-Denies any abuse from Hordak, may need to investigate further  
-Sidenote: According to Entrapta, Hordak appears to have been suffering from mental decline, memory loss and delusional hallucinations. If he were Etherian, I would possibly diagnose with early stages of dementia.  
-Attempting to lie and decieve appears to manifest physical discomfort from her now, may also be an empathic response to her concerns of Hordak's condition.  
-So, Hordak is being used as a, for lack of a better word, 'human security camera' for Horde Prime. I believe Entrapta has only just realized the implications of their physical relationship while under Horde Prime's surveillance.  
-Entrapta has been administering amnestic drugs to Hordak in order keep a somewhat private life away from Horde Prime, with the possible side effects being responsible for the deterioration of his mental faculties.  
-Recommended immediate cessation of this medication and closely monitoring him for signs of addiction, withdrawal, and hopeful recovery.


	48. Group Therapy, Session 1

"Hello, everyone, my name is Bill, and I was part of the Horde's 47th armored division..." an Elberannian male with a large fuzzy unibrow said as he stood up, tall, thin and lanky, in the circle of a dozen or so folding chairs.

"Hi, Bill," Adora said, along with everyone else in the room.

"So... I spent most of the war piloting a tank," Bill continued, his voice deep and masculine, but still somewhat whiny and nasally, "I spent every hour of every day in that tin can, keeping it clean, changing it's oil, fixing whatever I could, because I knew that three inches of steel was the only thing that stood between me and the wrong end of a spear. I poured my whole life into that tank. It kept me safe through the battle of Draymore, Plumeria, the seige at Brightmoon... so when Hordak ordered us to take Salineas, I thought... no biggie... just do what we always do... ride around, acting scary, fire off a few shots and no one had to get hurt. That's when I saw that Mermaid Princess, there. No cover, no allies, just her and me, two tons of armor and a sandy beach. Like I get her dead to rights, y'know? But, here's the thing, in all my years as a tank driver, I never actually had to shoot anyone before. I'd knock over buildings, break through walls and doors, but there was an actual flesh and blood human being I was going to watch explode into bloody chunks. So I froze... I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. We just stared down at each other for what felt like forever... until she waved her hand like she was throwing something at me. Before I knew what was going on, I'm out of my seat and my head slams against the roof. I'm sprawled across the ceiling looking down at the floor to see water spraying me in the face. Took me a second to realize my tank was upside down and under water. It's still there at the bottom of the ocean. I barely got out of there alive."

"Yeah, real tragedy there, ain't it, Slim?" a stout lizard creature scoffed, "You tank jockies act all tough, but when push came to shove you just couldn't cut it, could ya?"

"Hey, yaknow, it's not like I signed up for that job!" Bill countered, "I used to be part of the Elberon Royal Cavalry before Hordak showed up. When we got trounced by him, my only choices were to get enlisted or get executed! Before that, all I had to worry about was performance drills and making sure the horses looked nice enough for the Royal Parade."

"Hmph, yeah, it's really too bad you lost your cushy gig playing with the pretty ponies to a life of actual hard work," the lizard, who Adora mentally filed as 'that jerk' until she found out his actual name, grumbled, "Cry me a freaking river, buddy."

"Gentlemen, please," Double Trouble interjected, "We're not here to tear each other down. Thank you for sharing, Bill. It was very brave of you to be the first one to come up and expose yourself for us. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"No..." Bill said, meekly sitting back down, "I'm done..."

"Alright, that was Bill everyone," Double Trouble announced, "Who wants to go next?"

"Yeah, I got something to share," the jerk blurted out, brandishing the lumpy stump at the end of his right arm, "Y'all see this? This is what it really means to have the princesses take something from you. Unlike you tank jockies, the rank and file infantry had a lot more to lose than a fancy car. Caught frostbite tangling with that tiny one with the dark, black hair and the fur coat. Froze my hand completely smooth. All in all, I'd say I came off lucky. Another guy in my unit caught a magical blast right in the eyes from the short purple girl with the stick. The glitter completely shredded his retinas. He'll never see again. And the less said about that plant lady the better. Have you seen what poisoned spores does to a man? I swear the corpses she leaves behind are best left buried in the field."

"I've heard Princess Scorpia has been funding bionic replacements for those who need it," suggested Double Trouble.

"I don't need a stupid handout from another spoiled Princess," the jerk spat back, "I'm doing just fine on my own, thankyehverymuch. That's the whole point, innit? I don't see what you bunch of babies need to cry about."

"Now, sir," Double Trouble began, "I don't-"

"Don't you sir me, ya filthy ingrate!" the jerk yelled, "Have I got a Force Captain badge on my chest? No, ma'am, I work for a livin'!"

"I'm sorry," Double Trouble continued, "What I meant to say was this isn't a contest to see who suffered the most during the war. The point is the war has taken something out of all of us. And we all need help sometimes. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah, whatever," grunted the jerk, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"Okay..." Double Trouble sighed, "Does anyone else have anything to they'd like to add?"

A chubby Elberannian with a ponytail and messy facial stubble raised his hand.

"Yes, go ahead, Gary," Double Trouble encouraged.

The new Elberannian stood up and cleared his throat.

"Hi, everyone," he greeted, "I'm Gary."

"Hi, Gary..." the crowd replied in unison.

"So... um... I guess I'm a fisher now," Gary stuttered, his voice the high pitched crack of a teen just hitting puberty, "But way back when, I was a private with the Horde. I was one of the war orphans taken in after Elberon fell. So, uh, you were talking about that whole 'The war took something from all of us' thing. But I don't think that's true for me. You see, ever since I was a kid, I would do everything I could to get the crap work. Cleaning duty, Prison Guard Duty, Supply Inventory. All the boring jobs no one else wanted to do, because boring meant no one was shooting at me, or charging at me with a sword or casting hexes at me. I was just too scared to wanna go out there. Even when Catra started sending out people in overtime shifts at the end of the war, I was one of the last people actually shipping out for the final advance on Brightmoon. So I never actually got to see any combat before these new Hordaks showed up, because quite frankly... I'm a coward. I've been one my whole life. And I feel guilty everyday for hiding away in a supply closet while outside people were fighting and dying this whole time."

"Oh, wow, I knew I recognized that voice!" Bill exclaimed, "You were the guy I always went to requisition supplies because you always knew where to get the best motor oil for hover supports!"

"Engine Lubricant number 37B diluted with 5% water," Gary recited from memory, "Oh, hey, that was you? Jeez, so that's what you look like without a helmet. How did I not know you were Elberannian? And, sorry, man, but I gotta say this: you really need to shave a gap between that unibrow. It creeps the hell out of me."

"Oh, like you're one to talk about fashion!" Bill shot back, "Here's my advice, pal, a beard is no substitute for a jawline, no matter how you trim it!"

The entire group laughed at Gary's expense, who returned a nervous chuckle.

"Seriously though, kid," the jerk interjected, "I don't begrudge you none, not being in the thick of it during the war. At the very least, you were making yourself useful. I, for one, would rather be on the front line than pushin' a mop, so it's good thing someone was dealing with that janitorial crap. No, son, the real cowards are those traitors who ditched us for the Crimson Wastes. Don't see why Catra had to drag 'em back with her. "

"I... don't think this is a very helpful line of discussion," Double Trouble cautiously observed.

"No, you know what?" the jerk barked, "Hordak should have executed the whole lot of those criminal scumbags when they thought they could show their faces in the Fright zone again. That was how the Horde was supposed to deal with troops that go AWOL."

"Better AWOL than helping Hordak..." Adora whispered to herself, arms folded as she rolled her eyes.

"What was that, girlie?" the jerk growled, "Can't hear you too well from back there."

"I said, maybe they would have been better off staying in the Crimson Wastes," Adora shouted, "Where the only people they could hurt were themselves."

"Hah! I like your moxie, kid..." the jerk chuckled, "Yaknow, I don't think I've ever seen you in field before. Someone with your figure would have really stood out from all these doughy pencil necks on the battlefield."

"I'm... Dory," Adora greeted, "I used to be a Force Captain..."

"Hmph..." grunted the jerk, "Never heardaya. So my question is, did you actually see combat or are you just some Salinean tourist taking a gander at all the freaks?"

"Now, Mr. umm..." Double Trouble stumbled, "What would you like us to call you?"

"Try Sarge," the jerk offered, "May not be in the army any more since Pretty Princess Scorpia kicked us all out, but I didn't serve the horde for 10 long years just to be called a civvie, no sir!"

"Uh, huh," Double Trouble nodded, "Now, Sarge, if you can't stay here without antagonizing our other members, I am afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This is supposed to be a safe space for us to explore our feelings together and help us overcome our hardships from the war."

"Why don't you try and make me?!" Sarge threatened, "The universe ain't a safe space and it ain't supposed to be! Hardship is what made us strong. Builds character. Getting in a big drum circle and 'exploring our feelings' ain't gonna help you when She-Ra comes to cut you arm clean off like poor Private Frankie."

"Okaaay," Adora seethed, her hands shaking in rage, "I wasn't gonna say anything about the other Princesses, even though I was pretty sure that Frosta's ice can't cause frostbite and Glimmer can't actually blind people with her glitter blasts. But I know for a fact that She-Ra has never, *ever*, used her sword to dismember anyone. Apart from robots."

"Well, I got pictures of a one armed private that say otherwise," argued Sarge, pulling a photo out of his pocket showing a Horde soldier in the infirmary, "Poor son of a beast was just fresh outta boot camp when he ran into She-Ra in Draymore."

"Uh-huh," Adora grunted, taking the picture to look it over, "Because I was actually *at* Draymore, and I'm pretty sure I saw this guy cooking a plasma grenade for too long and forgot to throw it."

"Now, Ador- ...y?" Double Trouble interjected, "This isn't helpful right now."

"Budd out, Psy-ops!" Sarge shouted, "This is between me and the so-called Force Captain here. Cause it sounds to me like someone's callin' me a liar!"

"I'm saying alot of what you've been saying is just straight up not true," Adora clarified, "So you're either a liar or a gullible moron who believes everything he hears!"

"Alright, little missy," Sarge said, jumping out of his chair, "You and I are having it out, right here, right now."

"With pleasure," Adora said, getting up from her chair to stretch her neck and crack her knuckles, "Someone needs to knock some sense into that thick head of yours."

"Dory, sit down," Double Trouble ordered, "This is my house you're in, and I'm not letting you two turn it into an arena pit."

"Alright," sighed Adora, sitting back down, "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Dory," Double Trouble said cheerfully, before getting up to stretch their own neck and crack their own knuckles, "Now, Mr. Sarge, you've been making quite a nuisance of yourself all night. You've been harassing the other members in a time where they are making themselves vulnerable, you've been actively undermining my methods of care and now you are openly threatening the safety of one of my clients. So, I am afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Now then, are we going to do this the easy way or are we going to do this the fun way?"

"Now, looky here, you she-male freak!" Sarge threatened, stepping up approach the therapist, "I don't know where you get off telling me what-urk!"

Double Trouble's first hit was a left jab into his throat, shutting him up. The second was a solid punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of him. The third was a swift kick between the legs, causing him to drop to his knees. Finally, Double Trouble's left knee connected with the side of his head in a roundhouse kick, knocking him flat to the ground unconscious.

"Alright, everyone," Double Trouble announced to the remaining group members, "Five minute break, get some donuts and coffee. Dory? Would you be a dear and help me take out the garbage?"

"Um," Adora gulped in surpirse, "Okay."

Adora picked up the unconscious lizard creature and flung him over her shoulder as Double Trouble led her outside.

"Just leave him on the bench here," Double Trouble advised, "If he's smart, he'll either come inside to apologize for his poor behavior when he comes to, or he'll just go home. But I have a feeling he's going to be the stubborn type."

"I could have dealt with him for you," Adora noted, "I've been fighting guys like this my whole life."

"I know you could have, honey," Double Trouble said, patting Adora on the cheek, "But I needed to lay down the law myself right away, so the group knows what I will or won't tolerate. Sorry about that, by the way. I know you didn't want to have to deal with this sort of thing."

"Actually, I kinda do," Adora admitted, "The hardest part of this whole occupation has been how helpless it makes me feel. Like everything I do just makes things worse. And guys like Sarge just piss me off to no end. It's people like him that make the Horde so terrible. Without guys like him, there wouldn't even be a Horde. Like Bill and Gary, those guys in there aren't evil monsters to be slain. They're victims of the Horde, too. Forced to hurt others because of these sadistic pricks that have to bully and threaten them into fighting."

Adora sighed as she looked out to the ocean.

"And the worst part of it all is I was one of them," Adora realized, "It wasn't too long ago that I was a true believer of the Horde. I wish I could say I was forced to work for them or that Shadow Weaver made me do the things I did. But the truth is, I was no different from Sarge here when I was in the Horde. I ate up all that nonsense like an idiot. Strife breeds Strength, Hard Work is it's own Reward, Relying on Others is a Weakness. But all those so called virtues just made us all petty, desperate and mean. The Horde didn't make us strong and united. It made us weak and cannibalistic."

"You know, Adora, you should probably share that when we go back inside," Double Trouble encouraged, "I think that is exactly what Bill and Gary and all the others need to hear."

"Yeah, okay..." Adora complied, "So where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Well, Mermista taught me the throat punch," Double Trouble said, examining their fist with pride, "But the rest I picked up living on the streets in the Crimson Wastes. Not exactly advanced Horde combat training, but you can't argue with results."

"Combat Training..." Adora repeated, "I'm sorry! I have to go! I just realized I'm late for an appointment!"

"In the middle of the night?" Double Trouble asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Adora replied simply, running down the beach, "Again, Sorry!"

"Uggh," Double Trouble said, as the began dragging the Lizard creatures body off the bench, "Well, Mr. Sarge. I guess with no one else here, what do you say to a nice little midnight swim, huh?"'

Double Trouble grunted as they lifted the former Horde Soldier onto their shoulder and unceremoniously threw him face first into the water.


	49. 7th Interlude, Swordplay

Adora could barely see in the darkened tunnels that surrounded her. She grew nervous of each click of her boots against the glass floor announcing her presence throughout the mighty caverns. She continued moving carefully forward, uncertain of which path to take when it split before her. Choosing a corridor at random, she soon found herself on a metal bridge leading to a circular platform over what could have been a bottomless pit, for all Adora could tell. Adora stepped carefully on the grated bridge but turned around quickly when a door sealed shut behind her with a hiss. She began banging on it to open when she heard the sounds of machines clanging against each other below and the bridge she was on began to retract into the circular platform. She jumped off the bridge onto the platform before she could fall into the chasm below and soon saw a metal stairway leading to a higher platform above her. She walked towards the stairway, only to stop at the base when she noticed a figure clad in black guarding the top of it. It was barely illuminated by a thin beam of orange energy and two glowing red eyes.

"You have great power within you, young She-Ra!" the figure announced, "But you are not Etheria's savior yet..."

Adora carefully began climbing the stairs and pulled out a small device from her pocket. With the push of a button, another beam of orange energy erupted from it forming into a glowing blade of light. Adora pointed to beam at her opponent threateningly as she got up the final step and readied herself. The two fencers stared silently at one another before Adora made the first move, swinging her blade at the figure who deftly blocked it with his own. The blades crackled and hissed as they locked together, sparks of energy flying off the point of contact. Adora pulled her blade apart from the other with great effort as the blades appeared to be magnetically attracted to each other. She backed away, dodging the figure's counter swing and the duel began in earnest.

"I see you haven't forgotten your training in the Horde," the figure complemented, as he blocked and parried each strike, "You have learned much, young one,"

"Yeah, you'll find I'm full of surprises," Adora gloated.

Adora kicked at her opponent's leg with her own, only for it to clank uselessly against the metal armor. Adora staggered back a bit in pain. The figure took advantage of her error and gave a powerful swing, knocking the blade out of her hands and onto the platform below. Adora quickly rolled back down the stairs to retrieve it, grunting as each step cut into her sides. The figure leapt after her, overshooting both her and the blade and landing in the center of the platform. Adora barely had time to grab the sword off the ground before her opponent was on her again, striking at her with his sword as she rolled on the ground to dodge his attacks. When Adora finally got up, she began running away from the figure and up the stairs again.

"All too easy..." the figure scolded, as he began chasing after Adora, "It is your destiny to destroy me, She-Ra. You know this to be true."

"No..." Adora gasped behind her.

"Then perhaps you are not as strong as I had originally thought..." the figure groaned in dissappointment.

When Adora finished climbing the stairs, she turn around to give her pursuer another kick, this time in the face, knocking him back down the stairway.

"Oof!" the figure grunted before he pulled himself back up, "Your friends have taught you well. You have controlled your fear... your anger... But control is not enough to defeat me. You must now use it against me. Only your hatred can stop me!"

Adora just continued to run away as fast as she could, jumping from platform to platform, not looking behind until she saw her exit: an open doorway on the far side of this cavernous room, just past a long narrow bridgeway. Adora managed to leap onto the path and continued her flight towards the exit, only to duck when she heard the hum of an energy blade swinging towards where her head was not a moment ago. Adora turned around to see her opponent had managed to catch up with her and began violently swinging attack after attack, the blade passing through the walls of the corridor like they weren't even there. Adora swung her own sword defensively and back away from him down the corridor, carefully dodging the figure's attacks as he flew into a furious rage. As Adora continued to cede ground to her opponent, the fight migrated through the tunnel into another large cavernous room. Adora continued backing away from the fight across another narrow walkway, only to trip slightly when her foot found no more ground to cede behind her. Adora quickly looked back to see the end of the walkway and the endless drop below. She returned her gaze to her opponent, who simply held his blade up to her neck.

"You are beaten," the figure explained, "Do not allow yourself to be destroyed like Queen Angella did."

Adora closed her eyes and swung her blade one final time, grazing her opponent against the shoulder.

"Arrrgh," the figure growled in pain before making his counter attack and his blade of light passed straight through Adora's swordhand.

"Ahhh!" Adora screamed in pain as she doubled over and clutched her wrist.

"I just cut off your hand," the figure said plainly, turning off his energy sword, "Entrapta... lights."

The cavern lit up with bright spotlights as the figure turned away from Adora and removed his combat helmet. Adora's eyes took a moment to adjust from the pitch black darkness she was in to see the grey batlike face of her opponent.

"What in Etheria was that supposed to be?!" Hordak cursed, offering his hand to help her back up, "It was as if you weren't even trying!"

"What are you talking about?" Adora shot back, slapping away the claw as she pushed herself up, "I got you first, didn't I?"

"You had managed to chink off a small piece of my armor," Hordak explained, gesturing towards his shoulder, "You, on the other hand, are right now on the ground screaming in pain as you slowly bleed to death from your useless stump of an arm."

"I don't even see why we're using training swords in the first place," Adora said, brushing past him to walk back towards the exit, "It's not like I'd use a sword again when a gun would make so much more sense now and we've already proved I can beat you hand to hand."

"You managed to destroy a robot," Hordak scoffed, following her, "I must admit, it is a skill that you have proven most exceptional at. But unfortunately for us, the Horde uses far more than mindless automatons to fight for our Emperor. Millions of my brethren, each a fanatically loyal veteran of countless engagements, are stationed in orbit above us as we speak, how can you be expected to defeat them if you are not even able to fight me by myself?"

Adora stopped to glare in anger at the clone behind her, but couldn't think of anything to say in response.

"Just tell me one thing," Hordak demanded, "You had plenty of opportunities to strike a killing blow, ending the fight decisively and yet each time you chose to ignore it, either to run away or put up your guard. I know when an enemy is holding back. Why?"

Adora sighed as she looked away and continued walking

"Because I don't want to kill anyone I don't have to," Adora answered.

"And look at where your so called 'principles' have brought you!" Hordak shouted, gesturing towards the walkway behind them, "Your mercy is nothing more than a weakness to be exploited. Do not make the mistake of thinking any of my brothers will hesitate to kill you in a moments notice!"

"That's why it's so important," Adora sighed, "It's what separates me from you."

"She-Ra..." Hordak growled, "Adora... You cannot allow yourself to be put at risk needlessly. You are too important."

"Save it!" Adora shouted, pointing her finger into Hordak's chest, "I am so sick of hearing what a special little hero I am and how I'm to only one who can save Etheria. Shadow Weaver, Light Hope, and now you. I know now that it's just a stupid manipulation tactic I keep falling for to get me to fight your battles for you. But not anymore. If you want me to help you, than I'm doing it my way. Got it!"

Hordak leaned over to hiss in Adora's face but then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Of course, She-Ra," Hordak grumbled, "It is not my intention to patronize or belittle you. That is why I want to impress upon you the reality of our situation. We already face an implacable foe far stronger than any you or I have ever faced. It would not be wise for us to handicap ourselves further."

"Mercy is not a handicap, it's a tactic," Adora lectured, "It's easy to make up a no-win situation out of holograms and computer simulations, but the real world is not so cut and dry. I mean, if you, of all people, can manage to come around to our side, that has to mean there's hope for everyone else to defect, right?"

"My 'defection', if you could call it that, was the result of a great many of irrepeatable factors over the course of many years of exile," Hordak explained, "As far as the Greater Horde is concerned, I am a defective failure to be mocked and derided and you are nothing more than an alien primitive from a backwards medieval culture. I would not put much stock in attempting to reach them rationally or emotionally."

"Alright then," Adora said, "So I'm just gonna have to keep training with you every night until I'm good enough to beat you without killing you. It's not like we're on a time limit, right?"

Hordak grim features grew more dour as he silently followed Adora through the tunnels.

"Right?" Adora repeated with concern.

~*~

Entrapta was happily tapping away at her computer when one of the doorways hissed open announcing the arrival of Adora and Hordak. She spun around in her chair and waved at the two of them.

"Hi, Guys!" Entrapta greeted, "How did training go?"

"Miserably," Hordak critiqued, removing his cape as he hovered towards his own workstation, "Entrapta, could you please load up Squad 4-Alpha-Delta-7's Training Recordings and Force Captain Catra's video report from the Siege of Brightmoon?"

Entrapta gave a small thumbs up as her hair pushed a few buttons on her keyboard. The giant monitor above them that was showing a confusing amalgam of First One's runes and hieroglyphs soon flickered into two pictures. The picture on the left showed a much younger Adora with her old squadmates in the Horde, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio and Catra, all wearing their old cadet uniforms. The other displayed She-Ra in front of a craggy rock quarry, kneeling in a pool of dirty brown water, scowling at the viewer with her long sparkling blonde hair shimmering over her bright golden armor and tiara.

"What is this?" Adora called out, looking at the screen with contempt, "Have you been spying on me my whole life?"

"Of course not," Hordak replied, "Training sessions are always recorded for future examination by instructors and each my Force Captains were expected to record combat encounters on their badges, so that intelligence could be recovered in case of death. But I think this is an effective demonstration of the point I am trying to make. Observe."

Hordak tapped a button on his own keyboard and the video of the left began playing. The five combatants ignited their training swords, crackling with yellow sparks and glowing with orange energy. Each struck a defensive posture and waited for their signal.

"Begin testing!" announced the deep, sultry voice of Shadow Weaver.

"Yaagh!" screamed Kyle as he immediately charged Adora with his sword raised above his head, only for her to quickly stab him in the stomach and fling him over her shoulder.

"Cadet Kyle been eliminated," Shadow Weaver announced over the speaker, "A new record in first blood..."

"Ohhh..." Kyle groaned as he lay helpless on the floor.

"Dammit, Kyle!" Lonnie called out, "We were supposed to rush her together, remember?"

The Adora on the screen carefully stepped towards the remaining fighters, sword buzzing behind her.

"Four against one?" Hordak narrated, "Hardly fair odds for a cadet."

"This was the final test to see who would become squad leader," Adora explained, "It was supposed to be a free-for-all battle, but I had won all the previous matches. So their only hope to stay in the rankings was to gang up on me."

Soon, Lonnie and Rogelio charged Adora who effortlessly dodged and parried their strikes. Catra held back and examined them as they fought.

"Excellent form," Hordak noted, "But let us compare to a more recent engagement."

Hordak tapped on the keyboard again and as Adora dueled with her squadmates, the video of the right began to play.

"Hey, Adora," Catra's voice called out over the recording.

"Catra," the She-Ra in the video gasped, "Surprised to see me?"

"Not really," Force Captain Catra admitted, "I figured it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of you."

"Yearrrgh!" screamed She-Ra as she charged towards the screen, jumping up and slamming a tank in front of her with both fists.

"You know," Force Captain Catra chuckled, easily jumping away from the reckless attack, "I'm actually glad you did make it out of there alive. Because now, I can take you out myself."

"Now, can you tell me what you hoped to accomplish there?" Hordak asked Adora.

"I was mad," Adora exposited, "Catra just dropped me down a bottomless pit."

"And you allowed your emotional state to make you forget all of your training?" Hordak scolded, pointing towards the Sword of Protection that lay visible under the water, "Not to mention your sword..."

Meanwhile, on the left side of the monitor, as Cadet Adora continued to fight off Lonnie and Rogelio's attacks, Cadet Catra had maneuvered herself behind her and raised her sword to stab her in the back. Without even looking, Adora performed a spinning back kick into Cadet Catra's face which sent the catgirl flying backwards and dropping her sword. While She-Ra continued to hit solid rock with every punch and kick she threw at Force Captain Catra, Cadet Adora ducked under her opponents' attacks and swept her sword along the ground. Lonnie was quick enough to jump over it, but Rogelio screamed in pain and fell backward as the sword passed through each of his ankles. Cadet Adora turned the momentum of her sword into a powerful overhead strike against Lonnie, who had only barely managed to block the attack and lock her sword against Adora's. Electricity sparked and crackled as the two fighters struggled to break the lock.

"Cadet Rogelio has been eliminated," announced Shadow Weaver.

"Tired already?" Force Captain Catra mocked from the other fight, "I thought punching was supposed to be like... the one thing you were good at."

She-Ra threw a small pebble towards the screen, causing it to glitch for a second.

"And I thought you were supposed to be quicker," She-Ra shot back.

She-Ra made a flying leap towards her opponent and the screen was soon obscured in dirt and dust. A brown furred claw wiped the dust away to reveal She-Ra holding up a boxing stance in front of the camera.

"Give it up Catra," She-Ra ordered, "There's no way you win this."

"I already made it a lot farther than anyone thought I would," Force Captain Catra gloated, kicking a small rock at She-Ra's gold bracelets.

The screen again began glitching against from motion blur until it focused on the back of She-Ra's red cape and white tunic. Two brown furred claws ripped down the cloth, exposing pink flesh and red blood oozing down She-Ra's back.

"You, on the other hand," Force Captain Catra sneered, "You're not looking so good."

"Pause," Hordak ordered, both video's freezing on She-Ra's bloody scarred back and Cadet Adora standing victorious over Cadet Lonnie, "Here! Right here! If Catra had bothered to arm herself with a more suitable weapon, you would be dead right now."

"But she didn't and I'm still here," Adora argued, "In case you forgot, the Princess Alliance won the Battle of Brightmoon. You lost."

"The Princess Alliance won, yes," Hordak agreed, "The same Princesses that have now currently sworn their allegance to Horde Prime. You see where I am going with this."

"You've made your point!" Adora shouted, "I get it! I just need to train harder! Get better!"

"You have not understood my point at all, She-Ra," Hordak said, once more pressing a key on the keyboard, "You have *already* trained for this. But at some point you have lost the will to follow through with it."

"Cadet Lonnie has been eliminated," Shadow Weaver announced as the left video resumed playing.

Cadets Adora and Lonnie relaxed and lowered their guard as they both gasped in exhaustion. But from the shadows, a small metal cylinder came flying towards the Cadets. Adora blocked it with her left arm, recognizing it as Kyle's extinguished training sword. Cadet Catra ran out after her thrown projectile. She had used the small distraction to retrieve her own sword, run up a nearby wall and leap onto Cadet Adora's back. But before the catgirl could ignite her sword into her target's back, Cadet Adora had already ignited her own sword and stabbed it underneath her armpit, striking Cadet Catra through the heart. Cadet Catra shook uncontrollably as the electricity flowed from the sword into her body before she finally dropped off Cadet Adora's back onto the ground, defeated. Hordak pushed another button on the computer and the screen went blank. His red eyes glared at Adora as he silently awaited her response.

"So what?!" Adora shouted, raising her hands in exasperation, "Would you have rather I killed Catra, your precious little second in command? Impaled her own my sword like a good little soldier?"

"You do not want to know the answer to that..." Hordak grumbled, "But the question I do want you to answer is that, in all your conflicts with my former Force Captain, have your ever... once... managed to directly strike her in battle? Even as she was trying to kill you?"

Adora fell silent. Her mind drifted to the one time she remembered being angry enough with Catra to want her dead. Adora closed her eyes and she was standing on top of a small rock island floating in space and Catra was in front of her, half her body disfigured and deteriorating with black and purple energy. Catra had destroyed the world and everyone in it, just to get back at Adora, to stop her from 'winning'. And Catra had the unmitigated gall to blame Adora for all of her own mistakes. One punch was all it too to knock her unconscious and let her fall and dissolve into the endless white abyss. But that memory was too precious to her, too personal.

"No," Adora finally said, opening her eyes.

"And why not?" Hordak growled, hovering over her, "It's not because you're not strong enough. It's not because you're not fast enough. And it's not because of any lack of training. You were always fully capable of beating her, but you purposely chose not to. Why?"

"Because I didn't want to hurt her anymore," Adora said, glaring up at Hordak, "She got enough of that from you and Shadow Weaver."

"Even after everything she's done!" Hordak hissed, "You still defend her? Do you even know what she's doing as we speak?"

"Yes, she getting better now!" Adora screamed "She helped save Glimmer after you tried to kill her! She helped protect Etheria while I almost destroyed it!"

"You give her too much credit," Hordak retorted, "She protects Etheria to save her own worthless hide. She helped your friend to help secure her current position of power. All of what she's done has been nothing but to further her own selfish ends."

"I could say the same thing about you," Adora shot back, "You say you want to help, but what have you actually 'done' for us? Huh? Punched out some goons in an alleyway? Poke around my old stuff with your new girlfriend?"

"WOULD YOU BOTH PLEASE STOP FIGHTING?!" Entrapta screeched from her workstation, "I DON'T WANT YOUR LAST NIGHT TOGETHER TO BE THE TWO OF YOU AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Entrapta's outburst took both Hordak and Adora by surprise. With her visor closed, Entrapta had managed to blend in with the rest of her machinery while they had focused on old personal movie recordings. Hordak's features drooped in guilt at having ignored his lab partner for so long.

"Last night?" Adora repeated, turning to glare at Hordak, "What is she talking about?"

"I am afraid that a new complication has arisen regarding my capabilities of assisting you," Hordak said solemnly, "Entrapta has just informed me that the amnestic I've been taking to overcome my brother's surveillance has begun to show... adverse side effects."

"What does that mean?" Adora queried, growing more concerned, "You're not... dying, are you?"

"We are all dying, She-Ra," Hordak said broodingly, "Some of us just faster than others."

"Don't say that!" Entrapta ordered, "The truth is we don't know yet, Adora. I still need to see what the full extent of the damage is, so I'm going to have to examine Hordak's condition for the foreseeable future while he abstains from any mind altering substances."

"So that it, then?" Adora sighed, "No more Mr. Nice Hordak?"

"After tonight, I will be continuing my cover as Horde Prime's loyal servant," Hordak explained, "This will be our last chance to speak candidly to one another. Which is why I had to know you were ready before-"

Hordak stopped himself and fell silent.

"Before what?" Adora asked, "What aren't you telling me?"

"There are a number of affairs I must put in order tonight," Hordak exposited, "I will be meeting with members of the Whispering Woods Resistance tonight to discuss shipments of the arms and armaments we will be providing them."

"The Rebels?" Adora said, her eyes suddenly aglow with interest, "Can I help?!"

Hordak stroked his chin in thought.

"Possibly..." Hordak answered, "Tell me... what do you know of organized criminal enterprises?"

~*~

Lonnie stood watch as Kyle and Rogelio played cards in the dark. Entrapta's Castle had long been abandoned after her supposed death during a Princess mission in the Fright Zone. When news came out she had only defected to the Horde, her subjects fled to Brightmoon and the other kingdoms in the Princess Alliance. The castle itself had been stripped clean by looters and the later Horde occupation, then abandoned. The empty halls gave off a haunted, foreboding atmosphere.

"So... uh..." Kyle stuttered, "Thanks for coming, guys. You know, you really didn't need to keep me company on a simple pick up job."

"Like hell, we didn't," Lonnie grumbled, "We can't let you do anything by yourself after your big screw up in the Fright Zone. I mean, how did you manage to lose the guns *and* the jewels?"

"I said I was sorry," Kyle whined, getting up to stand, "I'm going to go take a leak."

"No way," Lonnie ordered, "You know what this place is like. I'm not letting you out of my sight to get lost in here."

Kyle sat back down and curled up into a ball to make himself smaller. Rogelio was about to put down another card, but froze when a strange scent entered his nostrils. He let out a soft snarl in warning.

"Yeah, I see 'em," Lonnie called out, "Get ready for anything."

A tall pointed-eared figure in sunglasses, a fedora and a trenchcoat and black gloves approached the three resistance fighters. His skin was green and underneath his big bushy beard was a matchstick held between his teeth. Beside him stood a shorter woman dressed similarly with her blonde hair tied into a bun under her hat.

"You Hector Malone?" Lonnie called out.

The man quickly made a shushing noise as he held out his gloved hands in a pushing motion.

"Hey, hey, easy there, Dreads," the man in the hat hissed in what could be called an attempt at an urban accent, "The wrong name in the wrong company can lose you more than money in Etheria dese days. Horde Prime's got ears everywhere, ya dig? I'm just the currya, here. Call me, 'Matches'."

"Uh-huh..." Lonnie groaned, "You got the goods."

"Of course," Matches said, snapping his fingers, "Barbie?"

The woman beside him said nothing as she sternly marched up to the wall to correct an empty picture frame The wall then opened up to reveal a secret compartment. The woman then picked up a heavy crate and dropped it between the two parties. With great force, she pulled open the top board, revealing a dazzling array of gadgets made out of crystal and metal.

"Step right up to the buffet, ladies an gentlemen," Matches announced, "You've got ya net launchers, ya gas grenades, sticky shockers, force field generators, 'Lectro Magnetic Pulse bombs and a whole bunch of other stuff to give those alien suckers a reaaally bad day. Quality electronics built to last until the end of time. And as always, the first sample is free. That's a 'Matches' Malone guarantee, right there."

Lonnie's eyes widened briefly at the sight of all the fancy equipment but then her expression soured as she regained her composure.

"Okay," Lonnie said, picking up on of the devices to examine it, "So, we might be able to find a way to use this stuff, but I've got some questions for you before we make any further plans."

"Yeah, fine, shoot," Matches scoffed, temporarily pulling out the matchstick to talk before replacing it in his mouth.

"Word in the Fright Zone is your boss has been trying to get in touch with us for a while now," Lonnie explained, "But until a couple weeks ago, no one in Etheria has ever heard of this guy. Who is he and why are we only hearing about this now?"

"The boss likes to keep his profile on the down low, ya see," Matches explained, "But he's been a big investor in Etheria's tech sector for the past couple a decades now. Mining, Construction, R'n'D, Manufacturing, you name it. If it's First One's tech, he's got a stake in it."

"And why does your boss want to do business with us?" Lonnie asked, "What does he get out of this?"

"To tell ya da truth," Matches replied, "The... ahem... old regime in the Fright Zone used to be some of our best customers. Worked closely with the big man up top even, especially after Dryl started opening up its diplomatic ties, if ya catch my meaning. But these new guys... to put it bluntly, they're just plain bad for business. Those ships in the sky and big burly soldier boys they got walkin' around are scaring off all our customers and even some of our employees, too. So the boss figures the bigger a nuisance you fine gentlemen can make of yourselves, the less eyes are looking our way, ya get me?"

"So you just want us to make trouble for the Horde?" Lonnie translated, "Usually when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. What is really motivating this turn of generosity?"

"Hey! This ain't no charity case, pal!" Matches called out, "The first taste may be free, but you better bring the goods if you want to see more of what we're offerin'."

"So how much is this gonna cost us for what your *offering*?" Lonnie said glumly, folding her arms in disapproval.

"We can discuss that after you've had a chance to take a good look at how everyt'ing works," Matches assured them, "I'm sure your higher ups will be very happy with what they see. If there's nothing else, me an' my partna will just be on our way. We've left a small comms unit in the box for when you want to get back in touch."

Lonnie stared intently at the two gangsters as they casually walked away. Kyle scratched his head as he walked up beside her.

"So... this is good for us, right?" Kyle whispered, "Better equipment means we can go on bigger missions, yeah?"

"It's too good," Lonnie grunted, "This Matches guy is probably the sleaziest creep I've ever seen in my life. I don't trust him or his stuff. This has gotta be a trap. And that girl he was with gave me a real bad vibe."

Rogelio replied with a series of snarls and grunts.

"Adora?" Lonnie said in surprise, "Not a chance. Why would she be here pretending to work for this lowlife?"

Rogelio simply tapped his nose and shrugged.

"Whatever..." Lonnie sighed, "I'm gonna ask Bow to take a look at everything here. I don't want to move this box an inch until we've checked every last spec for bugs and trackers."

~*~

Matches and Barbie walked calmly towards Entrapta's rocket car parked in her old secret garage and climbed into the two seater cockpit. As the canopy closed above them, 'Matches' took off his hat and sunglasses and wiped off the green makeup with his false beard. 'Barbie' removed her hat and let her hair down.

"I will be thankful to never have to go through with that nonsense again," Hordak groaned in embarrassment as he bunched up his trenchcoat and threw it contemptuously on the floor beneath him, "I will say though that your strong and silent persona appeared to be very convincing."

"It took every ounce of willpower not to burst out laughing," Adora chuckled, "Where did you learn to talk like that?"

Hordak paused for a moment before answering.

"Entrapta likes to watch entertainment transmissions with me before we go to bed," Hordak said, his head hung low in shame, "Recently, she's taken a particular interest in Etherian crime dramas."

"So why did we bother with all this?" Adora questioned, taking off her own trenchcoat, "What *was* the point of all the lies and dress up?"

"Because the Resistance would hardly accept arms from one of Etheria's most hated monsters," Hordak answered, clicking a safety belt around his shoulders and waist, "And if my brothers suspected you or the other princesses of arming the rebels, your planet would be forfeit. This way, even if the Horde places spies within the resistance, Etheria is safe. Put on your seat restraints."

"But you do realize you just made yourself out to be the sketchiest businessman ever, right?" Adora said, fiddling with her own seatbelt, "As in, there's no way the Resistance would ever trust a guy like you."

"Atomic batteries to power," Hordak said, apparently ignoring Adora's question as he began flipping switches on the console, "Turbines to full speed."

As Hordak pulled on the central gear lever, the jet engine behind them roared to life and Adora was shot back into her seat by the powerful acceleration of the vehicle.

"Trust will be unnecessary in your relationship," Hordak explained, keeping his eye on the path in front of him, "All they need to believe is that it is in their mutual best interest to work together. That is why you will have to be demanding in your future negotiations with the Resistance. You'll have to haggle for every coin you can."

"Why?" asked Adora, "What would we need the money for?"

"Because the Resistance will become suspicious if you don't," Hordak growled in frustration, turning sharply down the mountain pass, "Appearances make all the difference in how you proceed."

"You keep saying 'you' and not 'us'," Adora observed, holding onto a handrail above her, "Like you're not the biggest part of this whole operation."

"That is no longer possible at this point, I'm afraid," Hordak sighed, "Entrapta is going to be too busy overseeing production and my condition to handle the arms transfers. I will have to rely on you to be the face of this deception. You may use Entrapta's robot facsimile of me if you wish to continue using the 'Matches' Malone persona as a go between."

"So I'm just gonna be your delivery girl because you can't find anyone else to do it?" Adora grumbled.

Hordak sighed as he throttled off the accelerator and the car slowed down to a reasonable speed.

"There is more to it then that, Adora," Hordak replied, "I know you have your misgivings about me, but if this is the last time we can speak honestly to one another... I want you to know that I have come to greatly respect you over the short time we have had together. Your strength, your passion, your determination are all qualities I had hoped to instill in the best of my force captains. For whatever my opinion is worth to you, I am proud of the independent young woman you have become. If Shadow Weaver was right about one thing, the day you left us was indeed a dark day for the Horde."

"Wow..." Adora whispered under the sound of the still blaring engine, "Catra was right. It *does* feel good to hear your say that."

"What was that?" Hordak asked.

"Nothing," Adora replied, nervously shaking her head, "So I guess you would have wanted me to came back, too, huh?"

"Oh, of course not," Hordak chuckled, "Had you returned after defecting to the Princess Alliance, I would have personally had you executed for treason and being a suspected princess spy. A Force Captain that joined with the enemy only to meekly come back could never be trusted to serve the Horde ever again."

Adora's expression drooped as she folded her arms and looked out the side window as the rocky mountainside soon shifted into lush green woodland.

"It's so dark out there," Adora noted, "How do you see where we're going without any lights?"

"My visual spectrum reaches far lower than most Etherians," Hordak answered, "I am genetically predisposed operate in nocturnal environments and the dark depths of space."

"Yeah," Adora said absentmindedly, "I guess that's one of the benefits of being purpose built into the perfect killing machine."

"There are drawbacks to every advantage I have been given," Hordak continued, "My eyes and ears are sensitive to bright lights and loud noises. A powerful enough scream can sometimes be enough to leave me dazed and confused. Even my own genetic defects can suitably cripple me. Entrapta's suit compensates for it, but it is powered by a First One's crystal embedded in my chest. When it is removed, the weight of the armor renders me quite helpless... I am not meant to exist in this world with all it's life and color. I am an abberation... a mistake..."

"Mm-hmm..." Adora grunted, shuffling uncomfortably away from him.

"Are you even listening to me right now?!" Hordak shouted in frustration, causing Adora to jump in her seat, "After tonight, I will be your enemy! I am trying to inform you of all my most important weaknesses and vulnerabilities so you can properly kill and replace me! It is no more than I deserve..."

"Oh, for the love of..." Adora cried out as she pressed her hands against her face, "For the last time, I am not going to kill anyone! Not even you..."

"And I ask again, why?" Hordak roared, "You said it yourself! I am responsible for every horrible thing that has ever happened to you! I am every bad day you have ever had! I have caused nothing but death and destruction to your whole world! No one should be redeemable after that! Grr... I have outlived any use to you as an ally. You would be doing me a service, She-Ra. There are much worse fates than an honorable death to a superior foe..."

"No!" Adora screamed, "I am not letting you get off that easy! You don't get to just give up because it's gotten hard for you! Not after everything you've put me through! You're right! I do hate you! I hate every last thing you've ever done to me! But I don't want to kill you! I want you to have to live with it! I want you to spend every waking moment for the rest of your life trying to make up for every single mistake you've ever made!"

"So you want to take you revenge on me first, hmm?" Hordak said with a smirk, "I must admit I am surprised to see this side of you, She-Ra. It is most refreshing."

"It's not about getting revenge!" Adora argued, "Well, not all of it! For some stupid reason, Entrapta loves you! You may have given up on your life, but she sure hasn't! I watch her work so hard at trying to rehabilitate you for everyone that I just want to grab her by the shoulders and scream at her to let it go! That you're not worth the effort! But she still tries anyway, so I'm not going to stop her..."

Hordak frowned, but said nothing else. The rest of the ride was bathed in uncomfortable silence apart from the rumbling engine until the forest began to clear and Adora could see the shimmering lights of Castle Brightmoon. The car then came to a rapid stop.

"You brought me home..." Adora realized as the engines began powering down.

"Entrapta has been incommunicado with Horde Unit Lambda Omicron," Hordak exposited, opening the canopy and climbing out of the cockpit. "If anyone asks, you spent the night alone visiting her in her lab and helping her work while I was asleep in the next room."

Hordak offered his claw to help Adora out of the car. Adora hesitated to take it and allowed herself to be pulled out onto the grass.

"There is... one final thing I must ask of you," Hordak said glumly, "Do you think you are capable of concealing something for me?"

"What is it now?" Adora asked, having reached the end of her patience.

Hordak pushed a button on the vehicle and a secret compartment on its side opened up. Hordak pulled out a long thin object wrapped in red velvet cloth and carefully handed it to Adora.

"Open it," Hordak ordered.

Adora gave Hordak a curious look and begun uncovering the object, nearly dropping it when she recognized the golden handle and blue gemstone.

"The Sword of Protection..." Adora gasped, dropping to her knees in shock.

"Entrapta had completed it some time ago," Hordak explained, "I... helped... apparently. She had hoped to present it to you herself when you were ready to wield it again, but it has now become a liability under our care. We have made some modifications. I adjusted the sword's balance to better suit your strength and grip. Entrapta has managed to remove all feedback and override protocols from it's runestone without affecting it's ability to focus your powers as She-Ra. You control the sword now, not the other way around."

Adora examined the sword in her hands, the thin lines of First One's hieroglyphs etched in its silver blade shimmered in a rainbow of colors in the moonlight. Adora closed her watery eyes and, with a flash of bright white light, her sword disappeared and she was now wearing a gold bracelet with a bright blue gem on her left wrist. Adora began to cry loudly as she examined the jewelry on her arm.

"Adora..." Hordak said with concern, "Are you alright? Do you need-"

Hordak was interrupted when Adora got up to wrap her arms around him, Hordak returned the hug and carefully stroked Adora's hair.

"Thank you," Adora said, burying her head into Hordak's chest, "This doesn't make up for alot, but thank you."

"I am truly sorry for all the harm I've caused you, Adora," Hordak apologized, "I am sorry to have to continue to ask more from you after everything I've taken. But the truth is you are the only one I know of who is strong enough to defeat the Horde and save Etheria. And you are right, you can only do it in your own way. No one else has the power or the will to do what you can do. I only wish I knew how to do more for you."

"Dammit," Adora cursed, "Why do you have to go just when I'm finally starting to like you?"

Hordak sighed in regret and released Adora from his grasp. Adora wiped her eyes and the crystal on Hordak's chest caught her eye.

"You said Entrapta made this for you?" Adora asked Hordak.

"Indeed she did," Hordak confirmed.

"Pfft," Adora broke out giggling through her tears, "Hahahahaha..."

"You are not the first person to find amusement in my mobility equipment," Hordak grumbled, "Explain."

"I'm sorry," Adora apologized, regaining her composure, "It's what it says on the gemstone."

"You can read it?" Hordak said in surprise.

"Yes," Adora answered, "We'll sort of. It's hard to make out. I think there's a misspelling here."

"What do you think it says?" Hordak asked.

Adora examined the gem closely, and then looked up into Hordak's eyes.

"Knowing Entrapta..." she translated, "'Beloved'"

Hordak's cheeks immediately flushed bright red to match his wide eyed expression and his ears slowly flattened in embarrassment.

"I'm... just... gonna go now," Adora said awkwardly, cautiously backing away before running back towards the castle.

Hordak reflexively covered the gemstone with his claw in shame until Adora was far away. When he was satisfied that he was finally alone, he opened his palm and gave a small prideful smirk as he examined his chest.

"Beloved," he repeated.


	50. Seahawke, Lesson 4

"Oh, you'll never knooow!" sang a deep sultry tone echoing throughout the auditorium, "How I watched you from the shadows as a chiiild! You'll never knooow! How it feels to be so close... and be deniiied!"

Seahawke carefully opened the door to the seating area and was surprised to see a large crowd of people lined up along the walls of the room. Unable to see the stage from his position, Seahawke began squeezing and pushing past the crowd with his usual grace and charm.

"Excuse, sir..." he whispered, as be slid past each colorful figure, "Oh, pardon me, madam. Sorry about this... Yes, hello! Thank you, sir. Oof! Oh my!"

"Ow! Hey! Watch where you're going, buddy!" shouted the a brown skinned mermaid wearing the familiar garb of the royal princess of Salineas as Seahawke stepped on her tail.

"Oh, my sweet love!" Seahawke greeted, recognizing his off-again, off-again girlfriend, "I didn't know you would be here. Come to see me perform, did you? Brought a lot of friends I see..."

"Umm..." the mermaid groaned, "Do I... like... know you, pal?"

"Oh, ho, ho," laughed Seahawke, "I see what's going on, here. 'Who is this handsome stranger and what have you done with my precious boyfriend, Seahawke!' Well, don't you worry I'm sure he's somewhere close by."

"Well, no duh!" the mermaid scoffed, pointing at a man with a full beard and an eyepatch, "He's right there!"

"Well, I..." Seahawke stuttered in confusion, "What are you talking about, my sweet? That man looks nothing like me!"

"I mean, all it said in the profile was Baritone Sailor who looked pretty," the mermaid explained, "It's not like they expect us to look exactly right for the audition. I had to make this dress out of bedsheets!"

The mermaid demonstrated their fake removable tail that folded into a skirt.

"Oh, my apologies," Seahawke gasped, "I appear to have mistaken you for someone else. Did you say 'Auditions'?"

"Yeah, that's what the line up is for," the mermaid replied, "I'm guessing with that big moustache you're trying out for Bow, right?"

"I'm sorry, I was supposed to be meeting with my acting teacher here," Seahawke explained, "You haven't seen them, have you? They can take any shape, but normally have dark green skin and lime blonde hair?"

"Oh, you mean the Director?" the mermaid guessed, pointing at a chair in the middle of the audience seating area, "They're right over there."

Seahawke followed her hand over to a familiar green chameleon wearing a black beret and holding a plastic bullhorn in their lap.

"Oh, thank you very much," Seahawke told the mermaid as he began climbing over the seats towards his target.

As Seahawke clumsily approached, Double Trouble was carefully watching the voluptuous blonde catgirl with orange stripes that was singing and dancing seductively on stage.

"Oh, you'll never know the days," the large woman sang, "The nights, the tears, these tears I've cried! But now my time has come and time, time is not on your siiide!"

"Umm... hello?" Seahawke whispered as he carefully tapped on Double Trouble from behind.

"Oh, great, you made it..." Double Trouble said as they looked over their shoulder, "Come, sit down."

Double Trouble patted the seat next to them and Seahawke looked at in confusion for a second before obeying. Double Trouble returned her attention to the performance.

"What is going on here?" Seahawke asked, "I thought we were supposed to be going over my lessons today."

"Well, yes, and what a better way to learn than to watch how other people perform," Double Trouble assured him, "Sorry about starting early, but it looks like we got a lot more interest in this than I expected. I'm not sure we're going to fit everyone in one morning."

"Oh, well... okay..." Seahawke replied hesitantly, "How did you manage to get all these people?"

"Well, I put up posters everywhere, but I was worried about filling particular roles," Double Trouble introduced, "So I called in a few favors here and there. Some are old colleagues from the Crimson Wastes, some are unemployed former Horde Soldiers I met while I was working for Catra, one current Horde soldier who feels unsatisfied in his current line of work..."

Double Trouble pointed out a green eyed Horde clone that was reading aloud to himself off a stack of papers in a dark corner of the stage.

"Anyways, you're a producer for this too," Double Trouble said, handing over their clipboard, "So you should have a say in who you think fits best for each role!"

Seahawke took the clipboard and began reading.

"Why are you casting for me?" Seahawke asked, pointing at his name on the clipboard, "I mean, who could you possibly get to play me better than me? I've been doing it my entire life you know!"

"Oh, absolutely not!" Double Trouble scolded, their eyes wide with fear, "Getting someone to play themselves is one of the worst things someone can do to a performance. Have you ever been to an uncomfortable party where you were self conscious about everything you did?"

"Umm..." Seahawke said looking up to think carefully, "Not that I can recall, no..."

"Okay, bad example..." Double Trouble groaned, "The point I'm making is that if I ask you to go upstage and give me 'Seahawke', I'm not going to get 'Seahawke'. I'm going to get an idealized, squeaky clean perspective of what you think Seahawke is. No, we need someone who can seperate their ego from the character so that they can give an honest depiction of their virtues... and their flaws. Warts and all."

"Hmm..." Seahawke said as he stroked his chin, "So you don't I can handle it, do you? That sounds like a challenge to me..."

"No!" Double Trouble denied firmly, "No challenge, no reverse psychology! Asking you to play yourself would be incredibly counterproductive and not worth the extra work it would entail! I literally don't want you to do this!"

"Well, maybe we should leave that up to the audience," Seahawke scoffed, "I've noticed you haven't bothered putting your name on the casting list."

"Oh, I'm not a character in this story," Double Trouble replied, "I didn't do anything in the war worth mentioning."

"Nothing worth mentioning!" Seahawke repeated in disgust, "Why, my good fellow, you were our most dangerous foe! The deadly deciever of Elberon, the saboteur of the Battle of Dryl, the Spy who single handedly sowed discord amongst our close knit band of brothers... and umm... sisters! Who pulled us all apart and brought us at one another's throats! How could you possibly want to omit that from our epic tale?"

Double Trouble sighed quietly and hung their head low into their folded arms, not feeling particularly appreciative of Seahawke's 'praise'.

"Umm..." the cat lady spoke up, having finished their song some time ago, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm also a good tap dancer if you want me to show you!"

"Huh," Double Trouble said, shaking the cobwebs out of their momentary distracted brain, "Oh, right. That was a lovely performance Jenny-Anne, I think you have all the makings for a good Catra."

"Oh, well, uh, thank you," the catgirl laughed nervously, "But, uh, actually, I wanted to try out for Adora's role..."

"Oh... right," Double Trouble said, making a note on their clipboard, "Well, I'll need to go over everything with the rest of the crew, but I'm very happy with what I saw today. We'll call you when we make a decision. Thanks for coming in today, Miss Dots."

"Oh, of course," Jenny-Anne replied, giving a slight curtsy before walking off the stage, "Thank you for your time."

"Next up is a Mister Gordon from Plumberia, auditioning for the role of Lord Hordak," Double Trouble announced to the auditorium, "Come on up, Gordie."

"Hey, I didn't spend six years learning physics at the Maker's academy to be called Mister! Thank you very much!" shouted the next person in line as he marched up to the stage, "I have a Doctor's Degree, you plebians!"

The prospective actor was a well built, brown haired man with a goatee and a button up dress shirt and pants.

"I'm sorry, 'Doctor Gordon'," Double Trouble corrected themself, "So why don't you show us how you would play Hordak?"

"Yeah, whatever..." Dr. Gordon grumbled, his voice cracking and slurring a bit like someone unused to public speaking who frequently partakes in recreational mind altering substances, "So, I'm not actually here to try out for your stupid school play. I represent the Free People's of Etheria and we are here to protest this awful attempt at revisionist propaganda for the ruling elite in Etheria!"

"I'm sorry, 'We'?" Double Trouble repeated to the man standing alone upstage.

"It's a... very... exclusive group," explained Dr. Gordon with a bit of a stutter, "But the point is we will not let you try to fool us into thinking the She-Ra and the so-called Princesses of Power have been nothing but a detriment to Etheria as a whole! Their greed and callous disregard to the common man are what led to Hordak and the Horde taking over in the first place! Queen Glimmer herself has been making speeches about the importance of working with the Horde. That is why we will protest this establishment everyday this play is open!"

"NEEEEEEERD!" shouted a nasally voiced woman, wearing large purple pigtails that was loudly chewing bubblegum.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to mislead anyone on what it is we're making," Double Trouble said, feigning shock at the accusation, "So tell me: What makes you think this play is Princess Government Propaganda from the parts of the script I've released to the public?"

"Oh, I don't need to read something written by some Horde Spy to know what this play is about," Dr. Gordon argued, "I know where you get you money from!"

"So let me get this straight," Double Trouble said, suppressing their urge to snicker, "You came here... by yourself... to destroy something you have made no attempt at understanding... because you've already come to the conclusion it's wrong by some abstract criteria you've come up with... out of some misguided attempt of thinking it's the right thing to do?"

"Well, uh... I guess..." Dr. Gordon answered, sheepishly scratching his head, "Kinda..."

"THAT'S OUR HORDAK!" Seahawke screamed, jumping out of his seat in excitement.

"Wait... what?" said Dr. Gordon, synchronous with the Horde clone standing in the corner who was only barely listening to what was going on.

"Sorry about that, Tau Lamda," Double Trouble apologized, standing up to look at the clone, "Maybe next time..."

"Oh..." the clone replied, "...okay..."

The green eyed Horde clone held his head low and slouched his shoulders as he slowly walked out of the auditorium. Brother Alfred the Bizarre decided now was a perfect time to practice his rendition of 'Christmas Time is Here' on the backstage piano.

"Hold up a second!" Dr. Gordon exclaimed, "I said I'm not trying out for your stupid play. I'm going to be protesting it, remember?"

"Well, as much as I would just *love* all the free publicity that comes with a protest group," Double Trouble said sincerely, "Don't you think that as a member of the cast you would be in a much better situated to presenting your groups political ideas to those in power? There's a large cut in ticket sales for the leading villain."

"Don't think you can buy my silence on this!" Dr. Gordon threatened, "I have my principles. dammit!"

"Oh, of course..." Double Trouble cooed, "I'm sure an academic like you didn't get into that line of work for the money. After all, grant money is so hard to come by these days now that the Princess Alliance and the Horde are working together is peace."

"So uh..." Dr. Gordon mumbled, beginning to get somewhat flustered, "How busy are you guys expecting this show to be?"

"Oh, well, if today's interest has shown any indication," Double Trouble answered, "We'll probably be selling out our first few shows..."

"So... umm..." Dr. Gordon stuttered, "I'm gonna have to get back to you on that..."

"Of course," Double Trouble said with all the charm of a customer service representative, "You know how to get in touch with us. Thank you for your time."

"Uh... yeah..." Dr. Gordon said, awkwardly walking away, "Sure..."

"Oh," Seahawke whispered to Double Trouble, "You didn't want to see him sing or dance first?"

"That's the politics of Showbiz, kid," Double Trouble sighed, "I'd rather not deal have to deal with a heckler right now in front of all the newbies. Just pencil in Tau Lambda as an understudy in case things don't work out with this guy."

"Oh... I see..." Seahawke said, "So that was a diplomatic maneuver. Reminds me of all the concessions Adora and Glimmer had to make to keep the Princess Alliance intact. It seems as though making a play is much more like fighting a war than it would at first appear."

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Double Trouble grumbled, "NEXT!"

~*~

DT's Notes

Seahawke, Lesson 4  
-Adora: Needs to be able to work closely with the She-Ra actress to get their characters in sync, Mezzo Soprano  
-She-Ra: Needs to be durable enough to perform lots of hard stunts, stage fighting background? Mezzo Soprano  
-Glimmer: Will need a double for the special effects to work, might be a good role for a little person, Soprano, possibly a Treble  
-Bow: Needs to be comfortable with revealing clothing, no actual marksmanship ability required, Tenor  
-Perfuma: Countertenor  
-Mermista: Mezzo Soprano, good opportunity for a WoC, maybe someone blue or green for a change.  
-Frosta: Treble, little person role if at all possible, absolutely no real children.  
-Seahawke: Baritone, pretty face is a must...  
-Hordak: Needs to have a strong, intimidating presence. Bass, low baritone at the highest.  
-Shadow Weaver: Would have to be able to perform through a solid mask, Contralto if we can find one  
-Catra: Needs to be able to handle Intense Acrobatics, remember to scout for local circus performers. Mezzo Soprano  
-(The letters S, c, o and r are crossed out)  
-Entrapta: Soprano, still working out how to get the hair to work, will probably need a backstage puppeteer


	51. Shadow Weaver, 2nd Analysis

Shadow Weaver carefully examined the flower pot she had arranged on an outdoor table in the Brightmoon Royal Gardens before gently nudging it closer to the center. She then picked up a nearby lawn chair and slid it on one side of the table and went back to repeat for the opposite side. She adjusted the chairs so they were both facing over the wall to the spectacular view of the border between Brightmoon and the Whispering Woods.

"There we are... Perfect..." Shadow Weaver muttered to herself, "Oh, but I almost forgot..."

Shadow Weaver quickly floated back to her gazebo and brought out a tray with a kettle and two cups as well as a small assortment of baked confectioneries. She carefully placed the try on the table and began setting up spaces for two people to have their morning tea as the sun crept low over the horizon in the early morning. Satisfied with the presentation of her fancy tea set, Shadow Weaver let out a sigh on relief and sat down on a nearby bench to relax and wait in the sun. It wasn't long before she heard the sound of heavy boots against the cobblestone path and quickly stood up at attention. The boots belonged to the blue skinned Horde clone in his pristine white dress uniform holding a folder of paperwork under his arm.

"Good Morning, Sorceress," the clone greeted.

"Good Morning, General," Shadow Weaver replied, giving a quick bow before gesturing towards the table, "Please have a seat."

"Thank you," said the clone, leading his folder against the table leg as he sat down, "I notice the aesthetics of our dining area to be much more elaborate than last time. You must have taken special care in preparing for my visit today, haven't you?"

"Well, it's not often I find myself entertaining guests," Shadow Weaver explained, taking her own seat and pouring them each a cup of tea, "Nowadays the only times people come to see me are when they want something from me, be it a rare plant, an herbal remedy, our beloved Queen's magical training..."

"And how has the Brightmoon Queen been doing in your estimate?" asked the clone, taking a sip of tea, "I've noticed she's been less vocal about her displeasure in our... security measures for the time being."

"Oh, don't worry," Shadow Weaver chuckled, "She is absolutely livid at having to put up with her bodyguard. But she is smart enough not to express it in public. It is for her own good, after all."

"I am glad you agree," the clone said giving a small smirk, "Was her father so... opinionated, when you knew him?"

"Oh, without a doubt..." Shadow Weaver laughed, "Once Micah got started on a subject he was passionate about, it was just impossible to get him to stop talking. As frustrating as it was to try to teach a class with him in it, his discussions of politics and philosophy would rival the intellect of a man three times his age. Small wonder the boy would grow up to be a king. I could debate with him for all hours of the night. That is probably what I missed the most when I left Mysticore."

"Hmm..." the clone grunted as he listened to the sorceress, "You truly cared for him didn't you?"

"Yes... yes, I did," Shadow Weaver sighed, gazing down her cup of tea, "I'll never forget the look he gave me when before he left... Like I was a hideous monster to be afraid of... Like all my time as his mentor had meant nothing to him... I suppose it was foolish to expect anything different after all these years..."

Shadow Weaver fell silent as she remembered who it was she was talking to. She looked up at the clone to read if he had caught her blunder.

"What is it?" the clone asked calmly, his expression only revealing a small twinge of concern as he stared back at her.

"Nothing," Shadow Weaver lied, taking a sip of tea to calm her nerves, "I thought I saw something move behind you, but it was probably just a bird."

"Very well, then," the clone said, "Continue."

"Yes... right..." Shadow Weaver stuttered, quickly regaining her composure, "Where was I? I was talking about when I last saw Micah, all those many years ago... the day I left Mysticore..."

"When *he* left..." the clone corrected.

"Excuse me," Shadow Weaver replied.

"You said, when *he* left, he looked at you like a monster..." the clone repeated, "You said you expected it after all these years..."

"I must have misspoken," Shadow Weaver explained, "I was talking about how betrayed he must have felt after my fight with Master Norwyn... All those years of the Sorcerer's Guild's brainwashing, how could things have turned out any different?"

"I see..." the clone said, his attention shifting to the small beige cookies with red dots in the middle, "What are these... things?"

"Oh, that's a biscuit," Shadow Weaver answered, "It is a hard, baked pastry filled with fruit preserve. You are meant to dip them in the tea before you eat them."

"Hmm... Intriguing," the clone muttered as he picked up one of the cookies and dunked it into his cup before taking a small bite out of it, "Hmm..."

"Are they not to your liking?" asked Shadow Weaver.

"Oh, my apologies," the clone replied, placing the rest of the cookie on his saucer, "Even though me and my brothers have a finely tuned sense of smell, our ability to taste food and drink is much more... limited than that of other species."

"I suppose the Horde doesn't find much use in having it in your genetic makeup..." Shadow Weaver observed, "The canteens in the Fright Zone had a very limited menu as well back when I was serving under Lord Hordak. Only the bare minimum of nutritional sustenance, protein bars, enzyme paste, the odd caffeinated beverage. I assume that was mostly your brother's influence."

"Yes, he did tend to have a narrow perspective when it came to understanding other races and their cultures," the clone explained, "If it was not of immediate tactical value to the Horde, then it was of no concern to him. I doubt he gave much thought in how other species would view his... dietary selection for them. To be honest, I always considered that indifference of his to be his greatest weakness. One that I hope not to repeat."

When the clone finished the rest of his tea, he picked up the file folder from under the table and stood up. Shadow Weaver's eyes widened with shock as he came over to bow in front of her, gently lifting her hand up to his lips and kissing it as he did so. Her other hand reflexively drew up to her check in surprise. At that moment, Shadow Weaver was very thankful for the mask that hid her face which was no doubt glowing as bright red as the eyes staring deep into her soul.

"Thank you very much for tea, my dear Sorceress," the clone said, tenderly patting the hand he kissed, "Same time tomorrow morning?"

"Oh... umm..." Shadow Weaver stammered, "Yes, of course, General."

"Then I will see you tomorrow..." the clone said, letting go of her hand and adjusting his uniform before turning to leave.

~*~

Second Analysis of the Sorceress, Shadow Weaver  
Horde Unit Theta Rho Reporting

-Our Regular Morning Teatime has proved most enlightening today  
-Subject has been putting additional effort in preparing our meetings, implying a need for companionship  
-Apparently her past actions have left her alienated from members of both sides of the previous war, may be able to exploit this for future use  
-Reports that the Brightmoon Queen has continued displeasure at our security arrangements, but has chosen to remain silent out of fear of reprisal.  
-Turned subject of discussion towards the Queen's father in the hopes of gathering further intelligence on his personality profile.  
-Subject has accidentally revealed the Sorceress meeting with King Micah 'years' after leaving Mysticore, presumably after his supposed death...  
-Allowed the Sorceress to drop the subject in order to foster the appearance of trust between us.  
-Tested physical responses to displays of affection in accordance to Etherian custom, positive response suggests a more personal approach may prove fruitful.


	52. Adora, Session 2

"So, you wouldn't happen to know why I had to walk through a whole crowd of people dressed up as my friends and worst enemies just to get in here?" Adora grumbled as walked into the dressing room.

"Oh, no," Double Trouble groaned, reflexively turning their head towards the door behind them, "Are they all still outside? I told them auditions were done for today and that they had to come back tomorrow."

"Auditions?" Adora repeated, sitting down at the foot of the feinting couch, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh... It's... just a small thing me and Seahawke have been working on..." Double Trouble mumbled, shuffling uncomfortably in their seat.

Adora eyed the chameleon with suspicion before turning her judgemental gaze towards the advertising posters on the wall next to them. She stood up and walked over to pull one of them off the wall. It read, 'She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: A Musical Journey based on the True Story of the Great Etherian Hero, now auditioning at the Salineas Opera House' and showed a drawing of She-Ra triumphantly holding the Sword of Protection to the sky.

"You're making a musical about me and my friends?" Adora realized, "And you didn't even think to ask us first?"

"I mean, you *are* kind of a famous celebrity right now," Double Trouble shrugged, "We all saw those propaganda posters and little puppet shows depicting you punching Hordak upside during the war. I don't remember hearing you complain about those."

"I'm not talking about whether you have the legal right to do it," Adora argued, crumpling up the poster and throwing it at the ground, "I thought we were friends... I mean, your supposed to be my therapist, for crying out loud!"

"I am your friend!" Double Trouble said, running up to put their hands on her shoulders, "And who better to help tell an accurate story about you? You don't want people to get the wrong idea about you, do you?"

"So... what?" Adora scoffed, brushing off Double Trouble and turn away from them, "This is supposed to be you doing me a favor or something?"

"Look, Seahawke thought this would help with your current problems with public relations," Double Trouble explained, "We both agree that if people got to know the real you, then maybe they would be less likely to try to poison you at a birthday party..."

"And maybe I don't want to tell the whole world about what happened my private life!" Adora shouted, turning back around to angrily loom over Double Trouble, "It's not like I asked to be She-Ra, you know!"

"Hmm..." Double Trouble sighed, calmly sitting back down on their chair and crossing their legs, "Look, honey... Like it or not, people know about you now. And whether or not you asked for it, they're going to start forming their own opinions on everything you do for the rest of your life. I'm not saying it's easy, and I'm not saying it's fair, but you're going to have to deal with that before things start to spiral out of control. The best thing for you to do right now is to try to get ahead of the rumor mill and get your face out there. People are scared and confused right now with all the big changes that have been happening and they want to find someone to blame. And, just putting this out there, the more you hide out in Queen Glimmer's fancy castle, the more it makes you come off as someone who doesn't care about what's happening to the common folk right now."

"But if I went around telling people what I *really* thought about the Horde," Adora explained, "Then I'd be putting everyone at risk."

"And that's where I come in, honey," Double Trouble sneered, a prideful smirk forming on their lips, "You don't have to say a thing about the current administration. Just make a few public speeches about what you did during the war, maybe get someone to ghostwrite a tell-all book about your childhood growing up, throw in some stupid platitudes about the importance of safety and friendship and you'll have them eating out of your hand. Meanwhile, I'll put the real salacious stuff in our play and you can just not comment on it. After all, you can't control what some two-bit actor from the Crimson Wastes and a washed up sailor have to say about politics."

"And I suppose this political message in your oh-so-moving work of art is just a labor of love made out of the goodness of your heart, right?" Adora snarked, raising her eyebrow in disapproval, "Don't pretend I didn't see a guy working the box office outside preselling tickets."

"Hey! Entertainment is a business!" Double Trouble shot back, "I've got to pay for props, sets, actors, costumes, special effects, royalties for the music... We need to make up that cost somehow. Why? Did you want us to cut you in on a piece of that action?"

"Well..." Adora sighed, "Seeing as it is *my* story you're ripping off, I should probably be expecting some payment for my contributions... just on principle, of course..."

"That's the spirit!" Double Trouble cheered happily, digging through their bag and pulling out a contract, "I'll just put you down as an anonymous investor with a two point five percent stake in all ticket sales. Sign here..."

Adora glanced nervously at the pen and paper Double Trouble handed to her. A bead of sweat dripped from her forehead as she read over the terms.

"Why does this feel like I'm signing away my immortal soul?" Adora asked herself.

"Uggh... fine!" Double Trouble groaned in frustration as they reach over to make adjustments on the contract, "I can go as high as five percent, but anymore than that and it'll start cutting into how much I can pay the talent!"

"I'm talking about making money off of the things I did," Adora corrected, "I didn't defect from the Horde, become She-Ra and swear allegiance to the Princess Alliance to become rich and famous. I did it to help people... to make up for being a part of that machine that destroyed lives..."

"Oh, that!" Double Trouble sighed in relief, "You're just feeling guilty for being a sell-out! Trust me when I say that is the most useless feeling in the world! You are not a bad person for expecting proper payment for the work you do. Before you can help others, you have to be able to take care of yourself, right?"

"I mean, I was paid for the work I did..." Adora admitted, "Well, kinda. Queen Angella and Glimmer gave me everything I could ever want when they let me stay with them. But this is different... It doesn't feel right."

"Look, if you don't feel you deserve payment for letting us use your story, you can always just... *not*... take... the money," Double Trouble suggested, "But fair warning, this is gonna be happening, with or without your involvement. Me, Seahawke and the rest of the crew have put far too much effort and expense into this project to stop now."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that," Adora said, giving Double Trouble the side eye, "How *did* you talk Seahawke into going along with this?"

"Hey! I didn't have to talk him into anything!" Double Trouble chuckled at the accusation, "This whole project was *his* idea!"

"Okay, now I know you're full of it!" Adora shouted, turning towards the door to leave, "Seahawke might think he's that smart, but there's no way he could come up with all of this..."

"Ask him yourself if you don't believe me!" Double Trouble called out after her, "He was feeling upset at the bad press you and the other princesses were getting and wanted to do something about it. I don't think he knows much else apart from singing and dancing."

"Yeah, that much is true..." Adora admitted, stopping as she opened the door.

"Look, I know how uncomfortable it is to be in the spotlight again after feeling so done with everything," Double Trouble said, "Believe me, I *get* it. But I think, if you get back out there, people are really going to like you. I know I do."

Adora let out a heavy sigh and hung her head low as she leaned against the doorframe.

"You know, when I smashed that sword, I was angry," Adora said quietly, not moving as she stared at the floor away from Double Trouble, "It took control of my body and I felt used... betrayed... violated... All I wanted was to take back control of my life... No more Shadow Weaver, No more Light Hope, No more Queen Glimmer telling me what to do and when to do it, not caring about how I felt... Horde Prime is just one more dictator I have to fight, but this time I'm not sure if I can beat him... But if fighting in the Princess Alliance has taught me one thing... it's that all our greatest victories came from each of us helping each other do their own thing and supporting one another."

"So does this mean you want to help us?" Double Trouble asked expectantly as Adora came back into the room, closing the door behind her.

"If you're serious about this, fine," Adora answered, giving her ultimatum, "But I'm going to need to have a say in how this plays out. It's my life, I control what people get to see of it."

"Oh, I'm so happy to hear that, Adora," Double Trouble said with a warm smile, patting the couch beside her, "So why don't you lie right down and tell me everything you wanted to tell me yesterday? That way we can kill two birds with one stone!"

Adora exhaled sharply and did as she was told. As she lay flat on the couch, she folded her arms across her stomach and tried her best to get comfortable.

"So it all started when I finally got my promotion to Force Captain," Adora began, "First thing I wanted to do was tell Catra about it, so I asked her to meet at our usual hiding place..."

~*~

DT's Notes

Adora, Session 2  
-First official session between me and Adora  
-Crud... I hoped to have something more to show for the play before I told her about it.  
-In fairness, there probably is some kind of stupid conflict of interest law in Salineas about writing a play about someone you're supposed to be giving therapy to, but Adora doesn't need to know that.  
-Seems to hold onto a very naive view of business ethics and the realities of our current economic system, suggesting a very sheltered childhood and adolescence.  
-Oh, that's right... she grew up in a society where you were given a single chocolate flavored granola bar to eat 3 times a day and then was immediately adopted by a royal family where the kitchens could make her anything she wanted. She probably has no clue what it means to have to pay or scavenge for food.  
-Feels a loss of agency after the incident regarding the Heart of Etheria... I'm trying not to think too hard about the part I played in making that happen...  
-Has agreed to anonymously advise our production in exchange for script approval and a small stake in box office sales.  
-Still thinking about what Adora said about us being friends... Are we friends? Because after everything that's happened, I don't feel like I'm a particularly good one to have...


	53. Catra, 2nd Analysis

Catra groaned in pain as the doors to her mobile command transport hissed open. She pulled off her flak jacket before throwing it in the corner and continued to pick sticks, leaves and bugs out of her wild mane of a haircut.

"I will be in my quarters, giving my report to the Grand General," Catra told the two clones sitting at the transport's cockpit, "Move us out of the woods for a clear signal and ensure that I am not to be disturbed."

"As you wish, Director," a clone replied, as his partner pushed a button on the dashboard and the truck's engines roared to life.

Catra entered the tiny side cabin and closed the doors behind her before flopping face first onto the spartan cot that folded out of the wall. The whole room was barely two meters wide and almost couldn't fit her, the bedcot, and the tiny locker it opened from. She buried her face into the cheap fabric pillow and gave a muffled scream of rage.

"Yaaargggh!" she cried before rolling over and pulling out her tablet, "Alright, might as well get this over with..."

Catra tapped on the tablet screen and waited for the general to answer the call. Catra's eye twitched as she listened to tablet continuously simulate the sound of a ringing phone. Catra's finger reached for the hang up button when a familiar blue skinned face and glowing red eyes appeared on the screen.

"Director Catra," the clone greeted, "What news do you have for me?"

"Our forces have made contact with the Etherian Rebels," Catra reported, "We engaged briefly before retreating as ordered."

The clone raised an eyebrow at Catra as she nervously waited for his reply.

"Is that all, Director?" the clone growled, "I told you to give me a detailed report."

"The rebels... were well prepared for our attack," Catra continued, swallowing her throat, "They set up an ambush for us with advanced tech I haven't seen before. Miniature force field barriers to cut off our escape routes and some kind of electric projectile to render our troops unconscious."

Catra pulled something sticky off of her arm and showed it to her tablet's camera. The device looked like a small bullet sized electrode covered in a clear, translucent sap.

"Interesting..." the clone said as he examined the device, "Be sure to send a sample for analysis. And tell me, how did they manage to ambush you, if you had indeed retreated as I ordered?

Catra sighed and rolled her eyes at the clone's accusation.

"The rebels were first to open fire," Catra told him, "But they immediately fell back after our first volley. I ordered our forward squad to advance with caution, but we managed to get surrounded. When the firefight broke out, I ordered our team to scatter and regroup at our rendezvous point. I lost consciousness after getting hit by this stupid thing, shortly after, and had to be carried back to base."

"I see..." the clone remarked, "And the rest of you squad..?"

"Most of our troops made it to the rendezvous," Catra reported, "Those hit by the projectiles were able to quickly recover without any noticeable injuries. However... one member is still missing in action: Nu Sigma... Three two four eighty eight... I'm sorry..."

"Excellent..." the clone commented, turning his attention away from the screen and towards his own tablet on the desk in front of him.

"You're... not mad?" Catra asked, confused at the clone's apparent lack of concern, "If Nu Sigma didn't make it, then the Rebels probably have them as their prisoner. They could be torturing him for information. I messed up! You should be livid!"

"On the contrary..." the clone replied, not bothering to look at Catra as his claw began fiddling with the tablet screen, "If what I am to understand of the Whispering Wood Resistance's intentions and capabilities are correct, it I believe we may be able to turn this incident to our advantage."

Catra continued to stare at the clone as he continued to tap on his tiny screen like he was playing a musical instrument. Finally, Catra saw the clone's lips slowly curl into a smirk as he stopped to admire his handiwork.

"As I suspected..." the clone chuckled, "They haven't found his subdermal implants yet... Nu Sigma? This is General Theta Rho of Horde High Command speaking. If you can hear me, state your full rank, number and CO."

Catra was shocked to hear Hordak's voice, muffled with the sound of static, over the video call, only to quickly realize this was just another clone.

"Horde Unit Nu Sigma..." the voice stated weakly, "Three two four eight eight... five hundred and sixty second ranger division... currently assigned to Director Catra of Etherian Affairs..."

"What was that, Hordak?" another voice called out, this one a gruff older woman, "I thought I told you to keep quiet until we got back to base."

"That's good, Nu Sigma," the clone told the voice over the radio, "I am currently tracking your location from your subdermals. Remain in their custody and continue monitoring until we can pinpoint the location of the rebel camp. Repeat your rank and number to confirm your understanding."

"Horde Unit Nu Sigma..." the clone voice repeated, more confident this time, "Three two four eight eight... five hundred... and sixty second ranger division..."

"Shut up, Hordak!" the woman shouted angrily, the sound of loud feedback following her order, "Save it for the commander when he wants to talk to you!"

"Very good, brother," the clone assured the voice, "Stay alive until we can come for you. We will continue to monitor your situation and vital signs through the subdermals until see you again in person. Stay vigilant, Brother..."

The clone on Catra's screen pushed a button on his tablet and the sound of feedback and static quickly turned off. Catra began to grow annoyed at the knowing smirk he wore that she found to be unbearably smug.

"Stop looking at me like this was all just part of your plan!" Catra screamed at her tablet in disbelief, "There is no possible way you could have known all that would happen!"

"I did not know for sure, but I suspected," the clone explained, "The picture you and others drew of the rebellion suggested they did not intend to use lethal force, which was confirmed by the electric darts you were attacked with. Your description of the one called Bow in particular was that he relied heavily on his gadgets and was unwilling to use lethal force when not absolutely necessary, if even that. My study of his history in particular led me to his association with the Academy of Makers, a loosely affiliated group of Etherian scientists and engineers. He is one who sees War as a problem to solve, to be dissected and understood like a machine. It for this reason that I deduced that the best way to expose him would be to bait him with a lure his curiosity couldn't resist. And what could be more alluring to Maker than the chance to understand a mysterious alien species with technology far in advance of his own? After that, it was a simple matter of making sure my brethren were properly equipped to be tracked in the dense Etherian woodland without any obvious. As I understand it, your world is still somewhat ignorant when it comes to the internal surgical insertion of electronic devices, so the normal detection methods used by the Rebels would prove fruitless."

"So now we know exactly where Bow and the other rebels are hiding?" Catra realized, "We can just go get them... right now."

"Indeed," the clone general agreed, "Bring you forces to the edge of the forest and establish a field base. I will be arriving shortly with reinforcements and equipment so we can plan the next phase of our operation. See you soon, Director."

The tablet screen flickered off and Catra stretched out on the cot.

"Well, at least I'm not fired..." Catra sighed to herself, "Or being executed or getting sent off to die in a pointless suicide mission. Having a boss who doesn't try to get me killed on a regular basis is so much less stressful than having Hordak or Shadow Weaver as a boss. There is just, like... no comparison. Right, Adora?"

Catra pulled out a tiny figurine of She-Ra from one of her pockets. She recalled buying it off of a local trader back during the war. Or did she just take it? She couldn't precisely remember.

"Yeah, I miss you too," Catra told the doll, "But it looks I might be coming home a lot sooner than expected. So... bright side..."

~*~

Second Analysis of the Director of Etherian Affairs  
Horde Unit Theta Rho Reporting

-Subject has proven hesitant to reveal information that would cast her in a bad light, another disappointing flaw to be corrected.  
-Command style shows her to be impatient and impetuous, which the rebellion appears able to deftly handle, but was able to follow my directions eventually.  
-This advanced technology the rebels have acquired has proved disconcerting. I am confident our technicians should develop appropriate countermeasures by the time we are ready to make our assault, but how they managed to acquire it in the first place will require more in depth investigation.  
-The Director seems to have trouble with understanding the value of allowing your opponent to seize a small victory in order to advance a greater objective.  
-Will need to work on expanding on her methods of using knowledge about an enemies character to anticipate their actions,  
-All in all, the Director has proven somewhat lacking in capability when it comes to long term strategy, but I attribute this to her young age and lack of experience. I am hopeful she takes this moment to grow from her mistakes, but will continue to monitor her progress as a battlefield commander.  
-At the very least, she has proven useful in lulling the rebellion into a false sense of security.


	54. Hordak, Session 7

"So... um... how have things been going?" Double Trouble asked from their usual chair in the dressing room, putting on a cheerful smile.

"I am not sure I understand what it is you are asking..." Hordak replied from his position lying down on the couch, "Has Entrapta told you something that should concern me?"

"Entrapta?" Double Trouble repeated, feigning ignorance, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" Hordak snarled in anger, "I know she was here. I can... smell her scent on this very couch. After I specifically told her to stay away from you."

"Entrapta is her own woman with her own agency, Hordak," Double Trouble scolded, folding their arms in defiance, "Who and where she chooses to visit is for her to tell you when *she* wants to. And if she chooses not to, then I'd say that's gonna be your problem more than it is anyone else's."

Hordak stood up to leer over his therapist and bare his fangs in anger, only to be met with an open palmed slap across the face. Hordak froze in wide eyed shock at the attack.

"Nuh-uh! No more of that!" Double Trouble said, pointing angrily at their client, "You don't get to threaten and bully your way into getting what you want anymore. I have had a rough past week and I'm not taking any more of that attitude from you or any of the other whiny spoiled Princesses I have to take care of. I'm not your god forsaken mother and Entrapta isn't either. You're old enough to know better by now!"

Hordak sat back down at the foot of the couch and silently looked at the brightly carpeted floor while he rubbed his cheek.

"Now, are you going to behave?" Double Trouble asked with all the inflection of a frustrated primary school teacher, "Or am I going to have to send you back to the nursery with all the other petulant children before you throw another temper tantrum? Huh?"

"You have made your point..." Hordak growled.

Double Trouble continued to glare at their client with arms and legs folded in contempt.

"I am sorry for getting angry at you..." Hordak apologized, closing his eyes, "Things have not been going well between the two of us. Entrapta has become more... emotionally unstable lately. She's started crying uncontrollably at apparently random times in the day. She is trying to hide it from me, but I can tell something has made her upset. She claims it is nothing I have done, but her denials are becoming harder to believe each time I ask. It is... aggravating... to see her in turmoil and unable to do anything about it because she won't tell me what's wrong. I cannot remedy a problem I do not know about!"

"Maybe it's not your problem to fix?" Double Trouble suggested, "It's Entrapta's and it sounds like she wants to be able to handle it by herself."

"She calls me her lab partner..." Hordak whispered, "But a partnership implies some form of equality of status between peers. If she thinks I am unwilling or incapable of assisting her, then that means she does not respect me as an equal."

"I don't think it's a problem of respect," Double Trouble said, "Entrapta simply wants to be able to deal with her problems her own way and wants her own space. Just because your partners doesn't mean you have to do *everything* together."

"But... we have done everything together..." Hordak countered, raising an eyebrow in confusion, "Ever since I found her again, I never had any desire to leave her side."

"Yeah, and I think that might, in fact, be the problem," Double Trouble sighed, "She's probably starting to feel smothered by this relationship of yours. I mean, familiarity breeds resentment even among the closest of friends and lovers if they're not able to take a break once in a while. Don't you have any projects you can do on your own? Any hobbies or activities that you can do without her?"

"Hmm... I suppose not," Hordak realized, "Whenever we are not working on the Heart of Etheria project, she is making me participate in... social aptitude experiments in an attempt to rehabilitate me in the eyes of the other princesses."

"And don't you think the whole reason she wants to show you off in front of her friends is because she wants you to learn how to make your own?" Double Trouble theorized, "So she doesn't have to be the only person you interact with all day?"

"Hmm... I must admit," Hordak thought aloud, rubbing his finger against his chin, "I had not considered that possibility. Do you really think she has... grown tired of me?"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't put it like *that*..." Double Trouble replied, "But I think she needs to be able to count on you to be able to take care of yourself and not use her as a crutch. She wants to be your complement, not your missing piece."

Hordak laid back on the couch and stared silently at the ceiling for a full minute before he spoke again.

"Tell me..." Hordak sighed, "Do you know what Beast Island is?"

"Catra said it's where you used to send all your political prisoners and traitors," Double Trouble explained, "Judging from the name, I'm guessing it's an island full of ferocious and terrifying beasts."

"Oh, no, my dear vagrant," Hordak chuckled, "The island isn't full of beasts, the island *is* the beast. It is some kind of all-consuming gestalt entity; any creature that spends any length of time on the island is slowly absorbed and digested by it. A subliminal audio signal permeates the landscape eroding the victim's will until all they want to do is lie down and die. Even our best trained scouts couldn't last more than a few hours stationed there."

"So what does this have to do with our session?" Double Trouble asked.

"When you told me Catra had Entrapta banished to Beast Island," Hordak explained, "I knew for certain that she was dead. There was no possible way that she could have survived a day in that place, much less the many weeks between Catra opening the portal device and your disclosure of her fate. Catra had her murdered for her own petty jealousy, and I... had allowed it to happen."

"I think we don't need to go over your feelings of guilt over what happened," Double Trouble said, "I'm sure Entrapta doesn't hold that against you."

"My point is that when I found out that she was not only still alive, but safe," Hordak growled, barely containing his frustration, "I vowed do whatever it took to make it up to her for my mistakes and to never waste another moment we had together. Which is why I am hesitant to accept that what I must do is stay far away from her."

"I'm not saying you need to pack your things and move out," Double Trouble advised, "Just that you need to give her a little space. Let her know that you are willing to help her if and when she needs it, but only when she asks for it."

"Very well," Hordak sighed, "I will take your suggestion under advisement. If there is nothing further, I must return to see how Entrapta is progressing."

"Haven't you listened to a word I've said?" Double Trouble groaned, "Go do something, *anything*, that doesn't involve Entrapta for once. Walk along the beach! Go fishing! Something!"

"I do not require the... recreational stimulation you Etherians do," Hordak grumbled, "It is my duty to provide care and comfort for the princess. Beside, I doubt my presence would be appreciated by the citizens of Salineas."

"Then go find some of your clone brothers to socialize with!" Double Trouble exclaimed in frustration, "I mean, you spent decades trying to get back to them, but now that they're here I haven't heard you say a word about that means to you..."

Hordak glared in anger at Double Trouble but soon returned his attention towards to ceiling.

"When I saw my brothers had returned for me," Hordak recollected, "I expected a hero's welcome. I had not only managed to survive on this world, but conquered and tamed it in the name of my emperor. I had finally proved that I was far more any... genetic defect could hinder. And yet, when I finally stood before my brothers once again, it was not pride, but contempt I saw in their eyes. Each one of them saw my efforts as an embarrassment... a insult to the entire Horde... one that they were willing to destroy a whole world to erase any evidence of my mark on it... The Etherians regard me with fear... My brothers regard me with disgust... There is no company in which I am welcome."

"Well, Entrapta seems to think there's hope for you," Double Trouble scoffed, folding their arms, "So try anyway. If not for your sake, then do it for her."

Hordak calmly stood up and did up his cape before walking towards the door.

"Thank you for your time, Therapist," said Hordak politely, "I will keep your words in my thoughts for the time being. I bid you good night."

"Yeah, yeah..." Double Trouble sighed, "Good night, Hordak."

Hordak simlply grunted a response before slamming the door behind him.

~*~

DT's Notes

Hordak, Session 7  
-First session with Hordak after my, hoping to find out if Entrapta took my advice regarding the drugs  
-Needed to put my foot down on Hordak's bad behavior, needed to impress upon him that his violent outbursts would no longer be tolerated.  
-Sounds like Entrapta stopped giving him the drugs and it's begun to put a strain on their relationship.  
-It's probably killing Entrapta just to look at him right now and she can't tell him why because Big Brother's always watching.  
-Suggested Hordak give Entrapta her space and learn to do things without her.  
-Sweet Etheria, this man is needy, how has Entrapta not gone crazy dealing with him?  
-I think I just answered my own question...  
-Feels lonely and rejected by his fellow clones and I'm not too sure about his chances with forming a platonic connection with another Etherian...  
-Strike that, I'm absolutely sure he has no chance whatsoever...


	55. Glimmer, 2nd Analysis

"I just don't understand where they all get off..." Glimmer screamed in between punching angrily at the tall clone in front of her.

"Your majesty?" Tau Upsilon asked in confusion as she hit the padded focus mits that covered his claws.

Glimmer stood covered in sweat in a sports bra and stretchy purple pants that went up to her navel as she trained with her bodyguard.

"It's like..." Glimmer grunted, continuing to attack the clone with a combination of hooks and jabs, "Everything bad that happens in Etheria is now all my fault because I'm the only one who bothers doing anything anymore."

"The responsibility of leadership does tend to lead to natural resentment from those you are meant to rule over," Tau Upsilon observed, "Seven."

Glimmer fired off a one-two punch and then ducked under the clone's arm as he swiped it where her head was and she countered with another hook.

"It's like everyone just up and left because they couldn't handle everything that's going on," Glimmer grumbled, "As if I'm supposed to be handling everything all by myself... Bow's gone. Adora keeps sneaking off in the middle of the night to who knows where. My therapist quit because they couldn't handle basic impulse control and now Catra's disappeared on some sort of secret mission for the Horde."

"I must admit, your Majesty," Tau Upsilon told her, "I have found the She-Ra's rather flippant attitude to our security measures to be somewhat disconcerting. Four."

Glimmer gave a powerful cross before bobbing and weaving her head under two more swings from the clone and launching an uppercut at him.

"Good," Tau Upsilon commented, lowering his guard, "I think that should be enough for today, your Majesty."

"I want to keep going," Glimmer said, panting as she raised her fists up to her chin, "I've still got a lot of stuff I need to work out."

"I do not think that would be wise for someone in your condition," Tau Upsilon advised, taking the pads off of his claws.

"What 'condition'?" Glimmer scowled, taking out a towel to wipe herself down.

"Why, your growing pregnancy, of course..." answered Tau Upsilon, matter-of-factly.

"Pregnancy?!" Glimmer repeated, her face glowing red with embarrassment, "What are you talking about?"

Glimmer gave a look at the two Brightmoon guards who stood at attention nearby and, with a gesture from her head, they both picked up their spears and went back inside, out of sight.

"Oh, m-my apologies," Tau Upsilon stammered, his ears flattening as he took a step back, "I must have misread your scent while we were training. I am still somewhat unaccustomed to understanding nuances of Etherian biology."

"So let me get this straight..." Glimmer realized, trying to hide the small twinge of disgust that crossed her face, "You can... smell... pregnancy?"

"I... only noticed it after we had started training," Tau Upsilon explained, "It would have explained your morning nausea, your mood swings, your recent weight gain..."

"I get it!" Glimmer shouted, throwing the wet towel at him, "It's just... I haven't really been telling people yet... So, I don't want you telling anyone else about this..."

"Of course, your Majesty," Tau Upsilon replied, catching the towel and holding it carefully away from him, "Though necessary for biological reproduction, this process will leave you in a state of some vulnerability. It is only natural to want to hide this condition from potential threats."

"Can we just not talk about it?!" Glimmer ordered, stomping away from him, "I need to go get something from the kitchens."

"Allow me to bring it to you," Tau Upsilon offered, following her, "You should not be exerting yourself unnecessarily at this time."

"Stop treating me like some helpless baby!" Glimmer screamed, stopping and pointing a finger at him, "For the hundredth time, I can take care of myself!"

"It is my duty to ensure your health and safety, your Majesty," Tau Upsilon reported, bowing solemnly "I am only trying to help you. At the very least, allow me to accompany you to the kitchens, now that I am aware of what precisely has been ailing you, there is something that I believe may provide relief for most of the maladies you may be suffering from."

"You want to cook something for me?" Glimmer translated, taken aback by his suggestion.

"Me and my brethren may not have the most... developed palette when it comes to food," Tau Upsilon admitted, "But we have sampled a number of delicacies from the worlds we have assimilated into our empire. I can prepare any number of these meals for you if you so desire."

"You know what... fine," Glimmer sighed, turning around to leave, "If I have to have you following me around all day, you might as well make yourself useful."

~*~

The royal kitchen had a small dining area nearby for when the Royal Family of Brightmoon wished to dine in private when they weren't entertaining dignitaries from other kingdoms. Glimmer had quickly teleported into her room to shower and change out of her workout clothes while Tau Upsilon had taken over a section of the kitchen to prepare the evening meal. She didn't have to wait long before the clone brought her her food.

"Thank you," Glimmer said politely, gesturing towards the seat opposite her, "Please sit."

"Thank you, your majesty," Tau Upsilon replied, giving a bow, "I hope this meal pleases you."

Glimmer examined the object on her plate. It was a fairly large cube of blue jelly that jiggled as she prodded it with her spoon. She looked over at the grayish brown mess on Tau Upsilons side of the table as he sat down and found that even less appealing.

"So, umm..." Glimmer stuttered, looking back at her plate, "What is it?"

"It is a gelatinous substance made from fruit preserves mixed with powdered micronutrients, calcium antacids and probiotics," Tau Upsilon explained, "I've tailored the artificial flavoring to be appetizing to Etherian preferences. So please let me know how you like it, so I can properly adjust the texture for next time."

"So... what planet is this from?" Glimmer asked, poking the jigging cube once more with her spoon.

"It... no longer exists," answered Tau Upsilon, "But please, your Majesty, try a bite and I am certain you'll agree: Орда заботится о своих союзниках..."

Glimmer didn't bother to ask the clone to translate what he said. She simply scooped a piece of the cube off with her spoon and slowly drew it to her mouth, closing her eyes as she prepared to taste it. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed it's sweet fruity flavor as it jiggled in her mouth before she swallowed it.

"Huh..." Glimmer said, scooping up another piece with her spoon, "This stuff is actually really good. I don't think I've ever had anything like it before."

"I am pleased to hear that," Tau Upsilon responded, "Let me know if you would like seconds. The hardest part was gathering the required ingredients, so making more would be a relatively simple process."

"I really shouldn't..." Glimmer told herself between bites, "I've been eating too much lately as it is..."

"You mean you are no longer hungry," Tau Upsilon translated.

"No, I mean I don't want to get fat," Glimmer corrected, pinching her side a bit, "Well... fatter..."

"Are you worried about adverse effects to your health?" asked the clone, "You appear to be of average size for your height and age. I would think it far more unhealthy to reduce your diet at this point, especially considering your... condition."

"I told you I didn't want you to talk about that," Glimmer groaned, trying to be diplomatic in her frustration, "Besides, I'm not an idiot. I know what Catra has been saying about me behind my back."

"I must admit I find the aesthetic ideals professed by your culture to be somewhat... perplexing..." Tau Upsilon thought aloud, "In most cultures I've encountered, excess weight is seen as a sign of prosperity and good health. Besides, I do not think the Director's... impoliteness towards you would be improved by a simple change of diet."

"It's not just Catra..." Glimmer sighed, "Everyone hates me. Adora, the princesses, my subjects... They all hate me for giving up our sovereignty, for pledging my allegiance to Horde Prime, for all these security measures we have to take to protect them, the bodyguards, the lockdown, everything..."

"You are doing what you believe is best for continued safety of your world and its people," Tau Upsilon assured her, "If your fellow Etherians are unable to see that your decisions are for their own good, then that is their failing..."

The rest of the dinner proceeded in uncomfortable silence until Glimmer finished her plate and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

"You said this recipe is from a world that no longer exists," Glimmer recollected, "What happened to them?"

"Simple really," Tau Upsilon replied, "Their rulers betrayed their oath to the Horde, so our Emperor ordered us to make an example of them. We burned the surface alive, down to the last plant, animal and bacteria. All that remains of that world is a barren rock and what the horde has studied and archived of it's people."

Glimmer felt her stomach turn as she looked at the empty plate in front of her.

"I am no longer hungry," she said, getting up from the table, "Thank you for the meal. I will be returning to my quarters now..."

"Of course," Tau Upsilon said, as he began gathering the dishes together, "I will take responsibility for cleaning up. Good Night, your Majesty..."

~*~

Second Analysis of the Brightmoon Queen for Horde General Theta Rho  
Horde Sergeant Tau Upsilon reporting

-Progress is slow with self defense training, the Queen insists on relying on her teleportation abilities to compensate for her lack of reach.  
-Smell from her hormones released during training has revealed the Queen is pregnant  
-Refuses to discuss said pregnancy with any others, Will make determining the prospective father somewhat difficult  
-Has requested that I keep this pregnancy a secret for her, I recommend that she is still made to believe this is the case for the careful maintenance of our diplomatic relations  
-The other Etherians appear to be pressuring her into disloyalty against the Horde, I believe I have sufficiently corrected this behavior but will continue to monitor for signs of sedition.  
-Successfully administered sedatives through the Queen's food to make her more compliant to our demands, expected side effects include increased appetite, lethargy, decreased inhibitions, addiction and dependency, all of which have been approved by high command as reasonable and justifiable outcomes for her continued service to the Horde  
-I had originally planned on making a meat pie for her, but recent events made me think a blue jelly cake would be more appropriate.


	56. Mermista's Journal, Day 3

Just spent my entire day going after every single person on Octavia's list, every Force Captain who ever worked for the Horde... every officer and scientist with a secret to hide from the princess alliance, and each interview came up empty. No bad alibis, no suspiciously *too* good alibis, no one with a good motive, not a single hint of a lead. Only people left on my list who could have had access to the Horde's supply of Potassium Cyanide are the defectors from the Crimson Waste... and the man at the top who started this whole mess. And since no one has heard back from the Crimson Wastes in a long while and I was in no hurry to experience to hot desert sun, it was time to pay Hordak a visit. I have to say, if I knew how creepy She-Ra's crystal castle was, I probably would have gone with the wastes first.

"I do not see why we must see 'the defect' while he is supposed to be hard at work for our Emperor," hisses the clone walking in front of me, holding a misshapen bottle of glowing green liquid, "If you wanted to interview him personally, I could have arranged it for you."

"I mean, like, the whole point of this is to catch them off guard," I explain, "So they don't have time to get their story straight."

The big guy is Beta Sigma, one of the Horde's best commando troopers apparently. Looks and sounds like Hordak apart from his green eyes, barrel chest, and shoulder length curly hair. He was assigned to be my bodyguard because the Horde thinks we have 'compatible personalities'.

"Whatever..." Beta Sigma growls, "It is not as though I actually care..."

I have no idea what they're talking about.

"Yeah, working with you is, like, really making me not miss having Scorpia around at all," I tell him sarcastically, "And I'm certainly not wishing she was here right now instead of you."

"I am glad you agree," Beta Sigma replies sincerely, "Two runestone princesses in the same location presents too enticing a target for the Horde's enemies right now. It is for the best she is back home ruling her kingdom."

"Just don't drop that bottle, okay?" I order him, "It's supposed to be a gift."

"I am detecting high amounts of toxic material in this container," the clone tells me as he looks over the bottle, "Are we attempting to poison him?"

I didn't like how excited he sounded at the thought.

"Something like that..." I groan, "I just want to get him niiice and honest... which means I want you as far away as possible when we actually start talking, so you don't, like, spook either of them!"

"As you wish, Princess..." Beta Sigma growls softly.

The clone leads me down the labyrinthine corridors, his heavy boots cracking the hard crystal underneath them. He approaches a door which hisses open in response to his presence and enters the room ahead. It's not until he steps out of the way that I see a familiar purple haired princess hard at work on her computer.

"Who's there?" Entrapta gasps in surprise as she turns around in her chair to look at us, "Oh, it's just you... Hi, Mermista!"

"Hey, Entrapta," I greet her, before getting right to the point, "So like... where's your boyfriend? I kinda wanted to talk to him about some stuff."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Entrapta answers, returning her attention to her computer screen, "Hordak's out for today. Is there anything *I* can help you with?"

"Out..?" Beta Sigma growls in disbelief, "That defective reject is supposed to guarding you and assisting you with your work, not running errands in town!"

"Oh, don't worry. I've got Hector and Amanda for that," Entrapta reassures us, not looking away from her screen as her hair waves lazily at the Hordak looking robot beside her, "Say hi, Amanda!"

As if on command, a gigantic metal spider falls from the ceiling and lands in front us, opening up its jaws to screech a loud threatening roar at my bodyguard.

"Bring it ooon!" Beta Sigma screams back as he instinctively drew a small knife from his belt and leapt at the creature, stabbing it underneath its thorax, "YOU LIKE THAT, YOU OVERGROWN ARACHNID! I DO NOT FEAR DEATH, FOR I AM DEATH INCARNATE! FOR THE HOOORDE!"

While the two combatants wrestle on the ground, I pick up the bottle my so-called bodyguard dropped on the floor and bring it up to Entrapta console.

"So, uh, do you, like, have any place where we can talk, like, uh, privately?" I ask her, "While we wait for your 'lab partner' to come back."

"Oh, of course! Follow me!" she replies, taking the bottle with her as she gets up from her chair, "Hector! Make sure Amanda doesn't smash any of the computer servers again, okay? I still haven't recovered all my files from last time!"

The Hordak looking robot yelped a series of electronic chirps, beeps and squeals in response and then its hands unfolded and retracted into it's arms, revealing a buzzsaw and a small flamethrower underneath. The tall, lanky robot then turned around, charged into the melee and tripped one of the spider's legs and fell face first onto the floor, lighting Beta Sigma's pants on fire with its flamethrower.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Entrapta lied as she took my hand with a strand of her hair, "Let's go!"

Entrapta led me out a different archway and down another lengthy corridor into a small room with a table and two chairs set up. Entrapta's hair pulled open one of the cabinets and pulled out a couple of plastic cups.

"This is where Hordak and I usually stop to eat dinner," Entrapta explains, placing the bottle on the table, "But I don't think he'll mind if we use it for our little chat. I've had this room acoustically insulated so no one can hear us from outside. I hypothesize from this bottle you brought with you that you wanted to talk to the real Hordak and not 'Alpha Kappa'. Is this a correct assessment?"

"Yeah," I say as I sit down and pour us both a drink, "I wanted him to tell me everything he did at the party and everything he saw and heard that night."

"Well, we were all given his report of the events that took place that night," says Entrapta, looking somewhat concerned as she looked at the drink in front of her, "Do you think he might have forgotten to mention something important? I was with him for most of the night and everything appeared to be perfectly accurate from my estimations."

"But you weren't with him the whole time, were you?" I tell her, "You had that big public fight in front of everyone... and then he immediately made a straight beeline for the kitchen."

"I don't think I like what you're suggesting," Entrapta tells me and, for the first time since we've met, I see her expression harden into suspicion of me, "You don't think *he* could have been the one to poison that cake, do you?"

"I'm not ruling anything out at this point," I tell her, taking a small sip of my drink, "Look at how the chain of events played out, he gets angry, goes to the kitchen where the cake is being made and it's just him and the catering staff, and then we all find out the cake has been poisoned with substance used by top members of the Horde as a suicide pill."

"We found out because he's the one who told us!" Entrapta screams, her eyes flaring in anger at me, "He's the one who saved us all that night!"

"Exactly!" I shoot back, taking another swig, "He tells us it was because he smelled almond in the cake. But, like, we only have his word to go on that. Maybe he wanted to kill us all, but got cold feet at the last second. Maybe it was all a trick to make himself look like the big hero. Doesn't mean he's not the one who poisoned it in the first place."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Entrapta shouts out, grabbing the sides of her head and curling into a ball on her chair, "The Horde doesn't want the princesses dead! They need us to make their runestone powered superweapon to work!"

"And that's his motive!" I explained, finishing my cup, "Remember the first night we spent together in Salineas? He said he was willing to do whatever ever it takes to get the Horde off of Etheria! And what better way to get back at his Big Brother than to screw up the plans he made for this whole planet!"

"But that doesn't explain the threatening letters or the comments one of the cooks made in the kitchen!" Entrapta continues rationalizing, wincing in pain as she pulls at her hair in frustration.

"Anyone could have written those letters..." I tell her, "And, I already told you, we only have Hordak's word for what happened in the kitchen. Glimmer cast a truth telling spell on every single member of the castle staff and none of them were guilty, but she didn't bother on the other princesses or their guests. It can't have been any of the wait staff, and it had to be someone with access to Potassium Cyanide from the Horde. Hordak is the only suspect left! When you eliminate all the possibilities that are impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be, like, what actually happened, right?"

"But it might not have even been Potassium Cyanide that the cake got poisoned with!" Entrapta screeches at the top of our lungs.

"Oh for Etheria's sake, Entrapta!" I shout back, "Of course, it was Potassium Cyanide! You're the one who did the test, remember?!"

Entrapta falls silent and her welding visor closes over her head, completely covering her face. I lay back in my chair and groan at frustration at this woman who just couldn't accept that an evil conquering dictator might also be a cold blooded murderer too, even after all the facts she gave me. But as I watch her rock back and forth unconsolably, I realize she's not just angry... she's ashamed... she's guilty.

"You fixed the test, didn't you?" I tell her.

"I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt," Entrapta whines, tears streaming out the bottom of her mask, "You have to believe me! It's just... I had been trying so hard to help Hordak. To show you all he's not this evil monster you all make him out to be. But if he ruined Princess Frosta's big birthday party for no reason, even if it was just an accident, you never would have been able to forgive him. I couldn't take that chance..."

"Entrapta..." I tell her bluntly, "What did you do?!"

"During the party..." Entrapta chokes out, "I had a small sample of Potassium Cyanide with me inside a tiny glass vial. Hordak gave it to me back when we were working together in the Fright Zone. He told me this was in case the princesses found me again and wanted to hurt me for staying with the Horde. I never intended to use it, but I kept it all this time because no one had ever given me anything before. Hordak gave it me because he cared about my feelings, and it gave me a choice if something bad happened to me. So, before I took the test... I broke the vial... and poisoned my own slice of cake to make sure test would come back positive..."

"So... that means the cake was never poisoned to begin with?" I ask her.

"It means we don't know..." Entrapta admitted, "I contaminated the evidence because I couldn't let Hordak be wrong. I couldn't let him lose all the progress he's made with all of you."

"That was not your choice to make..." a familiar deep voice growled from the doorway.

Without us realizing it had been open in the first place, the door to the dining room had hissed closed and I turned to see a familiar green eyed, batlike face of Entrapta's lab partner stare back at me.

"It would appear I need to make improvements on the acoustic insulation of this room..." Hordak observed as he walked into the light.

"Hordak! You're back already!" Entrapta squealed in a panic, her visor opening on reflex, "How much of that did you hear?"

"Princess Mermista was quiet enough for the sound proofing to perform it's function adequately," Hordak explained, gesturing towards me as he walked over to Entrapta, "You, on the other hand, appeared to do everything in your power to make youself heard. I came to make you no one was hurting you."

"It's alright, Hordak... I'm fine," Entrapta snorted, wiping the tears from her eyes and trying to put on a happy despite everything that just happened between us, "How is everything going on in the main lab?"

"I believe your... pet has been giving my brother an extended tour of the complex..." Hordak phrased delicately.

As if to verify Hordak's assertion, the room shook with the sound of eight spindly legs clacking along the walls at great speed. Hordak quickly opened the door to look outside. Sure enough, there was Entrapta's giant spider friend dragging along my bodyguard by the waist as he continued to repeatedly plunge his knife into its body, each wound healing almost instantly after the knife is pulled out for another strike.

"OH, COME ON!" Beta Sigma roared from his position in Amanda's powerful jaws, "WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO KILL THIS INFERNAL BEAST?! I'VE STABBED IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND IT JUST WON'T DIE! THIS IS JUST GETTING STUPID!"

"I think he's had enough, Amanda," Entrapta ordered, "You can let him go now!"

The spider did as she was commanded and spat the horde clone out onto the floor, before crawling back up onto the ceiling to keep watch over her prey, eight red eyes staring intently at each of us.

"Yes, go ahead and run, little bug!" Beta Sigma screams up at the spider as he picks himself up off the ground, "Don't think hiding up there will stop me from ending your pathetic life!"

"Enough of this nonsense, Brother!" Hordak shouts at the clone, who is absolutely drenched and dripping with blood and motor oil from his tattered clothes at this point, "You are embarrassing the Horde in front of the princesses..."

Beta Sigma turned around to give Hordak a cold glare of resentment before he wiped his knife on his ruined leggings and placed it back in it's holster.

"Yeah, whatever..." he grumbles, pulling out a small thin white tube from his pocket and placing it in his mouth, "Look, I need to take a inhalant stimulant after that fight. Can you tell me the fastest way out of this... ruin?"

"Our security drone will escort you off the premises," Hordak explains, "There is a personal matter I need to discuss with Princess Mermista."

Hordak gestured to the Hordak shaped robot running towards them from further down the corridor. As my so-called bodyguard continued patting his body to look for something, the robot walked up to him and waved the flamethrower on its arm in front of his face, lighting the small tube on fire.

"Hmm..." Beta Sigma grunts, pulling the lit tube out of his mouth and blowing smoke into the robot's face, "Thanks..."

As Beta Sigma carefully followed the robot down the dark corridor, Hordak ushered us back into the dining room and sat the two of us down before closing the door.

"I apologize for my brother's rude behavior," Hordak says to us, "His personality is genetically predisposed towards combat and survival situations as opposed to more subtle nature of politics or diplomacy."

"Don't think you can just sweep what just happened under the rug!" I tell him, "I'm here to figure out just who is responsible for poisoning Frosta's birthday cake and Entrapta just admitted to personally destroying valuable evidence!"

"I am aware..." Hordak says quietly, "And apart from that setback, how is you investigation progressing?"

"There is no investigation!" I shout in frustration, "Thanks to the stunt your girlfriend pulled, we can't even prove a crime has been committed, apart from her evidence tampering!"

"Yes... I can see how that would present a problem..." Hordak sighs, "I am assuming there will be repercussions for Entrapta's misdeed."

"Well, like, not really," I admit, "I mean, The Horde needs her to finish your big doomsday weapon, right? So, like, the worst she's gonna get is a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to from Queen Glimmer."

"But her social standing among the other princesses will be forfeit and you will never be able to trust her again, will you?" Hordak explains, "She would lose all the friends she had made."

"I mean, what do you expect?" I tell him, "If the cake got poisoned, then she just made sure we'll never find out who did it. If not, then this whole mess with the bodyguards and the lockdowns and going to full scale war against the resistance was done for absolutely no reason. Either way, Entrapta's little fib has managed to ruin all our lives. All of Etheria is going to be out for her blood, and I can't exactly just tell them it was all just some big screwup..."

"But suppose you did manage to find out who did it anyway..." Hordak theorized to me, "Then there would be no need to inform the other princesses of Entrapta's 'little fib', correct?"

"Well, sure... maybe..." I stutter, "But it's not like the suspect is going to just drop into our laps and confess, you know?"

Hordak silently stared at me, turned to look at Entrapta who avoided looking back out of shame and then he returned his attention to me.

"I hereby confess to the attempted assassination of Princess Frosta and the other princesses in attendance at her birthday party," Hordak stated loudly, "I had full access to the poison used, was heard publicly voicing my displeasure of the targets during the night in question and was seen entering the kitchens shortly before the cake was presented. I believe that grants me the means, motive and opportunity to perform the deed of which I am accused. Is that sufficient to secure my conviction?"

"Hordak! This isn't going to work!" Entrapta argued, grabbing him by the arm, "The Horde has access to your memories! They'll know you're just lying to protect me!"

"The Truth is far less important to the Horde than what story best serves its interests," Hordak tells her, pulling his arm away, "And I would argue that the Horde's interests are best served by your continued good standing with your friends in the Princess Alliance. I am certain that my Brothers will understand the practicality of this action. The freedom of one defective clone is worth very little compared to the smooth operation of the greater whole. It is not as though anyone in Etheria would think any less of me. Am I correct in that assumption, Princess?"

Hordak turns to me again and I suddenly feel very uncomfortable under his judgemental gaze.

"I can probably name one or two people who would be more than happy to see you behind bars," I tell him bluntly, "And it *would* make everyone else's lives a little easier."

"Then we are in agreement," Hordak tells me, "You get your perpetrator to scorn and punish, so you can move on from this affair, and Entrapta is free to continue her work unmolested. Everyone benefits."

"Except for you!" Entrapta says, her eyes welling up with tears, "You didn't do anything wrong! I did! I made this happen! It's my fault, not yours! It's not fair!"

Hordak gave Entrapta a small smirk as he knelt down next to her and used his thumb to wipe a tear from her cheek. Entrapta once again wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. Hordak closed his eyes as he hugged her back.

"I know, but I am going to fix it anyway..." Hordak whispers, "You have committed a reckless act of deception out of some misbegotten desire to protect me. All I ask is that you allow me the same opportunity. If it is true that the cake was never poisoned and that I acted rashly from that misinformation, then I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself any further for my mistake. This is my choice to make... and I choose for you to live a better life than the one you'd have with me. But before I go, I want you to know how thankful I am for the time I've been able to spend with you. Each moment since you came back into my life has been a gift to me. The best that I could ever hope for and one that I will never be able to ever fully repay. Entrapta... I don't know if I've ever told you this before, but-"

"No!" Entrapta interrupts, pushing away from him, "Don't say it! Not now... Not while you're like this..."

"Entrapta, please listen to me," Hordak growls in frustration, holding onto her arms as she tries to cover her ears with them, "If I don't say this now, I may never get another chance... I love you, Entrapta. I always have and I think I always will..."

"Nooo..." Entrapta whines, covering her ears with her hair, "You don't even know what it means for me to hear you say that right now... Oh, Hordak... Why do you have to do this to me?"

"I'm sorry, Entrapta," Hordak apologizes, letting go of her, "I can understand if you don't feel the same way about me, but I couldn't leave without telling you the truth about how I feel about you."

"You simple-minded ignoramus!" Entrapta shouts, taking me aback to hear her insult someone for the first time, "Of course, I love you, too! You think I didn't know what it means for us to be working together again! Every dinner we've had in this room, every night watching our narrative transmissions from other worlds on the big screen, sleeping next to each other to conserve body heat... letting you be the one to take care of my... physical needs... Do you think I would let you do those things to me if I didn't know the way you felt about me and if I didn't feel the same way? You never had to say a word for me to know what you meant, but hearing you say it now means I'll never get to hear you say it again!"

"I can't say that's not a likely possibility," Hordak sighs, "But would you have rather I never said it at all?"

Entrapta crosses her arms and pouts, but doesn't say a word.

"Entrapta, I am not doing this to hurt you..." Hordak explains, "I am doing this to save you from me. You are a Princess and I am of the Horde, a relationship like that could never possibly work out between us, no matter how hard we tried. This universe would simply not allow for it. I'm not asking you to forget about me, but to continue without me. Because I believe in you, and I believe that you can find people much better for you than me."

"I don't want 'someone better for me'!" Entrapta complains, "I want you! I don't care what the universe thinks about us!"

"And what do you propose we do?" Hordak shrugged, "I am open to whatever you suggest."

"I don't know..." Entrapta cries, "I just don't want to lose you again..."

"And I do not see an option that prevents that from happening..." Hordak admits, turning towards the door, "At least this way, you are protected from any public backlash..."

I try to make myself blend in with the surrounding furniture as I continue sipping my drink and wrack my brain over the mess I've landed myself in. On one hand, I'd be lying if I said the thought of Hordak being put in jail didn't feel like karmic justice for everything he's ever done to hurt me personally, not to mention everyone else in Etheria. On the other, watching Entrapta fall to pieces over the idea of tearing the two of them apart made me sick to my stomach. Or maybe that was just the booze. Either way, I wasn't going to be the one to solve this problem if the two so-called greatest scientists in Etheria were stumped by it. I made my way outside and waited for the two of them to finish arguing and saying goodbye. It feels like forever until the big man himself comes out alone.

"Entrapta has not been taking this situation very well," Hordak tells me, holding out his claws in front of me, "I ask that you please take care of her after I am gone."

"I mean, like, I wiiill..." I shrug as I pull out a pair of manacles sized for his hands, "But not, like, because you told me to."

"Fair enough," Hordak growls, carefully watching as I clasp the restraints around his wrists, "I am assuming you will be taking me to Brightmoon for my incarceration and eventual trial?"

"Oh, ho, ho, nuts to that!" I laugh, pushing him in front of me as we begin walking out of the First One's ruin, "All crimes committed against the Royal Family of Brightmoon are punishable by an immediate public execution!"

"Forgive me if I fail to find your joke to be particularly humorous at this time," Hordak hisses.

"Who's joking?" I tell him, "Why do you think there aren't any, like, prisons or dungeons in Brightmoon? I mean, I don't think Angella or Glimmer have had to enforce it at any point in their lives, but I doubt she's going to just let you stay in the guest room till the end of time. No, I think I know exactly the best place to put you away for good. You're the one who made it after all."

Hordak's eyes narrow at me as he slowly realizes exactly where I plan on taking him.

~*~

The flight over to the Fright Zone was uneventful. Beta Sigma didn't need much convincing to go along with our scheme. Hordak was right about one thing: a single defective clone really isn't worth much in the eyes of the Horde. All that was left to do was for him to sign the confession and me to fill out the paperwork for bringing him in. Hardest part of the whole proceedings was telling Scorpia what was going on, after she caught me coming out of the administration office holding the papers for a prisoner transfer under my arm.

"Mermista!" she calls out to me over the sound of thunder and lightning, "What are you doing here? I thought we were supposed to be staying away from each other until things quieted down."

"No need for that anymore, Scorps," I tell her, popping up the collar of my trenchcoat to protect myself from the heavy rain pouring down on us, "We found our assassin."

"Really?!" Scorpia exclaims in excitement, "You actually caught 'em?! Who was it?!"

Scorpia's interest immediately deflates as she look over my shoulder to see who Beta Sigma was pulling out of the transport, their entrance punctuated by another crack of thunder.

"So you're really gonna go through with this, huh?" I hear Beta Sigma whisper into Hordak's ear, "I'm almost not completely disgusted to be sharing the same air with you."

"I am, Brother," Hordak whispered back, "Unless you have a better idea for maintaining the Horde's relationship with the Princess Alliance... Please tell me you have a better idea for maintaining the Horde's relationship with the Princess Alliance."

"Sorry, Brother," Beta Sigma chuckles, "I wouldn't want to take away from your 'noble sacrifice'."

Hordak frowns as he is pulled across the metal landing platform by his handcuffs, the rain causing his tuft of black hair to flop down the side of his grey batlike face, making him look even more disheveled and pathetic.

"Wait, but that looks like Hordak," Scorpia observes, "Hordak was the one who poisoned the birthday cake?"

"Nothing gets past you, Scorpia," I compliment her, "Didn't take much to get him to confess."

"But... that doesn't make any sense," Scorpia stutters in confusion, "Hordak is the whole reason we knew about the poison in the first place. He saved us that night!"

"That was just what he wanted you to think," I lie to her, "It was all just a trick to get the princesses and the rest of the Horde to think he was a hero. But it turns out he's the whole reason we were in danger in the first place."

"No... but he was so nice to me after what happened between-" Scorpia begins before cutting herself off, "It can't be him! It just can't!"

"Look, Scorpia," I tell her firmly, "It's over. We caught him, he confessed, things can all get back to normal now."

Scorpia ignores me and runs up towards the two Horde clones walking towards the prison center.

"Tell me it's not true!" Scorpia orders Hordak, running to keep pace with the clone's long strides, "Tell me this is all some big misunderstanding!"

"I am sorry, your Highness," Hordak says, not bothering to look her in the eye, "But your friend is right. I did it. I am guilty."

"But why?" Scorpia pleaded with him, "How could you do something like this?"

"Because I was tired of being regarded as a defect and a failure," Hordak gloats, selling his role as the villain a little too well in my opinion, "Etheria needed to know that *I* was the only one with the strength and will to protect them... and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling princesses."

Scorpia stopped still and watched as the two clones entered the administration center for the prison. I catch up with her and try to put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she falls to her knees and begins crying, her tears disappearing into the wet ground with the rest of the rainwater.

"I just can't take this anymore," Scorpia whines, "Everytime I try to see the best in people... to trust them... and every time they try to take advantage of me. It just keeps happening, so much so that I'm starting to wonder if I'm the one who's the problem at this point. I am just so sick of being used."

"Look, I know how much it hurts when people you like disappoint you," I tell her as I try to pat her on the back, "If there's anything I can do-"

"Oh, shut up!" Scorpia screams, slapping my hand away with her tail, "Don't even pretend like you aren't loving every minute of this! I was there when you were one of the first people to go along with Glimmer's plan to use the Heart of Etheria against everyone else in the Horde! I saw what happened when you hit Catra at the baseball game! I saw how much you enjoyed hurting her! So don't act like you haven't had it out for all of us from the very beginning!"

"Look, I admit I was not in a good place when we had... that discussion," I say, attempting to be diplomatic as I put up my hands submissively, "And I really do regret that things went down the way they did."

"You regret that Horde Prime got to take over after everything was said and done," Scorpia shouts, getting up to point her claw at me, "But if everything had went to plan, you would have been perfectly fine with killing all my old friends to get revenge for what happened in Salineas."

I freeze as I try to think of something to say to defend myself. After getting to know her so well since the war ended, I've forgotten that Scorpia used to be a major part of the Horde and she probably would still be a part of it today if things had turned out any differently. And as much as I want to, I can't tell her she's wrong about me.

"That's what I thought..." Scorpia sighed, "You know, for a moment there, I really did think we all could have been friends, even after everything that had happened... But Hordak was right about us all along, wasn't he? The Princesses are all just dumb kids holding on to power we were never meant to control... We just destroy everything we touch..."

My eyes widen for a moment as I see electricity crackle from the giant red claw that's pointed at me. I almost don't make it as I duck under the bolt of lightning that erupts from it.

"Holy cheeseballs!" Scorpia shouts out, immediately covering her mouth with her claws, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-Oof!"

But it was too late. My body was ready for a fight. Not thinking or listening, just reacting. I punch her right in the stomach and she doubles over onto the ground. I feel a small layer of fat over her firm muscly abs and my fist barely makes any impact into her. But it's still enough to make her spit something up on the landing pad. I take a second to breathe when her tail snaps into action and stabs me in the leg. It stiffens up and I also fall down. Scorpia is the first to get back up and I can tell she is angry. She raises her leg to stomp on me and I wave my hand at the pool of water her other boot is standing in, causing her to slip and fall again. The tingling in my leg starts to fade and I pick myself off the wet metal floor and get into a fighting stance as I see Scorpia do likewise.

"Yeeeaaagh!" Scorpia screams as she charges me, claws bared.

I jump at her as she approaches me, both feet in the air to hit her face when her claws get a hold of my sides and I wince at her vicelike grip. She gives a primal yell as she throws me against the wall and I fall to the ground. Before she can charge at me again, I raise my hands towards her and the rain shifts direction, peppering her with water moving so fast, they must have felt like bullets hitting her. She covers her face with her claws to defend herself as I get back up and continue my assault, forcing all the tiny water droplets around me to hit her as hard as they could. Scorpia is pushed back by my attack until I see her claws crackle with energy again and I dodge to the side as she unleashes another lightning attack against me. After that, I start using the puddles to splash against her as we begin trading blows, me dodging her lightning strikes, her blocking my water attacks with her claws. We cautiously advance on each other as we slowly exhaust our powers and soon our fight becomes a good old fashioned boxing match, punctuated with thunder and lighting as the rainstorm continues to grow more hazardous.

I punch her in the face, she gets me just below my left tit, we continue to trade until both of us are holding onto the other with our free hands to stay upright. Each time her claw lands a blow against my side, it feels like a ship crashing into me. I'm pretty sure one of her punches breaks a rib. Finally, her claw clamps into my shoulder and I feel myself shaking uncontrollably as her electricity courses through my body. Unable to do anything else, I twist my fingers into firm grip and the rain water around us begins to coalesce into a small sphere around Scorpia's head, forcing liquid into every hole it can find. She gurgles as bubbles come popping out of the sphere and finally her grip starts to release. Without her grip to keep me steady, I collapse onto the landing pad and twitch and sputter from the residual electricity. I lose control of all my powers and the water sphere around Scorpia's head explodes onto her chest and shoulders. I hear her fall a short distance from me and gasp for air.

"Hey!" I call out as soon as my body stops shaking, "You gonna be alright?"

"Get... bent..." Scorpia shouts at me between breaths as I get up to look at her, coughing on all fours.

"Yeah... sounds like you've still got some water in your lungs," I diagnose as I crawl over to her, "Hold still."

I put my hand softly against Scorpia's back as she continues coughing. She stiffens up at my touch and her tail twists towards me, ready to strike again at a moments notice. I carefully but firmly move my hand up her back towards her neck. When my fingers curl around her head, just below her ears, water starts pouring out of her mouth. When I'm sure it's all out of her, I let go of her and she collapses on the ground, rolling onto her back. I do likewise.

"I didn't mean to do that..." I hear Scorpia wheeze, "I was just so angry, I couldn't control myself."

"Yeah, I know," I tell her as I cradle my side, "I couldn't stop myself either. To be honest, I have been drinking a little tonight."

"The Horde is not going to like hearing about two princesses beating the snot out of each other," Scorpia realizes.

"Like... I won't tell anyone, if you don't," I assure her.

"Well, I guess you'd better be going then," Scorpia whispered, sitting up, "It's not like there's any reason for you to stick around, seeing as you still hate me and all..."

"Come on... I don't hate you, Scorpia," I sigh, "It's not as though you're the bad guy here. You're just someone who cares too much, who got caught up in the wrong crowd."

I seize in pain as I try to get up and let out a loud yelp.

"Yikes!" Scorpia cried out, "Do you need help? Is there anything I can do?"

"It's just my rib..." I cry out, falling back down on the ground, "I don't think I'm gonna be able to get a ride home... or, like, anywhere, for that matter... anytime soon."

"Here, hold onto me," Scorpia says, offering her claw to me as she picks me up, "You can stay in my room for tonight."

"Thanks..." I say, taking her by the hand and leaning on her shoulder as we walk, "Look, I'm really sorry about everything that's been happening to you lately, but that doesn't mean we can't still be friends..."

"Look, Mermaid Girl..." Scorpia says to me, "I know there's something you're not telling me. I can't pin my tail on it, but there's something wrong with everything that's been going on here. And I'm going to find out what it is..."

"Forget it, Scorpia..." I tell her, making sure to throw my hat into the first garbage can we walk by, "It's the Fright Zone..."


	57. Group Therapy, Session 2

"So..." Adora started, "My name is Dory and I used to be a Force Captain for the Horde."

"Hi, Dory," the crowd around her greeted in unison.

"So, the problem I've been dealing with is..." Adora recited, leaning forward in her chair with her elbows against her knees, "I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be doing now that this whole war is supposedly over. I've been so focused on trying to win it that I never thought about what I wanted to be, now that we're finally at peace. Ever since Queen Glimmer surrendered, I've been staying at her cast- I mean, my friends place this whole time. I got back together with my girlfriend after we broke up during the war, but ever since then, it feels like all I've been doing is mooching off the two of them while they do all the real work. I'm basically just a housewife now, except I have no idea how to do anything useful. The Horde never taught me how to prepare or cook food. I never learned how to sew or make stuff. I can clean, at least, that's one thing I learned in basic training is how to keep the barracks tidy and organized. But everything else... when will being able to disassemble and rebuild a forty watt range phased plasma rifle blindfolded in less than a minute ever come up again in my life? When will I ever need to know the four hundred and twenty seven rules for leading a five man squad in hostile territory, or all the ways to subdue an armed opponent using an entrenching shovel? My head is just full of all these useless facts and skills that I've never going to use again. So... what? Am I supposed to start all over again now? Go back to kindergarten with all the little kids, learning how to make pasta or what an aunt is supposed to be?"

"Oh, man!" Bill interjected, "I totally know what you're going through! Like how I tried to get a stable job after Princess Scorpia fired us all. I figure it should be easy since I've got Elberannian Royal Cavalry on my resume, except I haven't even seen a horse in over 10 years! And before I can get back in to the swing of things, I mess something up and now I'm back on the street with no idea what to do next!"

"Yesss," a slender lizard woman hissed, "You sssaw about how Prinsssessss Ssscorpia wanted usss to learn how to become farmersss, becaussse of the rassshion ssshortagesss? But the sssoil in the Fffright zzzone hasss been sssterilizzzed for ssso long that it will be ssseveral yearsss before it will be sssuitible for sssussstainable growth. What are we sssuposssed to do about that?"

"Yeah, you see, this is why I lucked out in becoming a fisherman," Gary the Fisher added, "Force Captain Octavia used to run a ship back in the war, and she more or less got to keep it when Salineas needed more fishing boats. Since she knew what I did during the war, I managed to get a job on there basically just doing what I did back in the Horde, keeping things clean and running inventory. You know, I think most ships are looking for more able bodied workers. I could probably put in a good word for you guys, if you wanted to apply."

"A ssship would not be sssufffissscient for me," the lizard woman replied, "I get ssseasssick, you sssee, but thanksss anyway..."

"I mean... I know my way around an engine block," Bill stammered, "Ships have those right?"

"Oh, my god! What are you even talking about? Of course they do!" Gary shouted in frustration, "It's a Horde ship! They were built with the same stuff we use in our tanks, so that it would be easier to get spare parts! How do you not know this?"

Double Trouble's body shot up at the sound of raised voices and looked around nervously, hoping no one noticed they had fallen asleep in their chair.

"Well, sorry!" Bill shouted back, "I've only been on a boat, like, once in my entire life and it was so crowded at the time that I didn't get to see much."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Gary said, figuratively brushing off his friend, "So, anyways... what about you, Dory? Do you think you might wanna be a fisherwoman?"

"I don't know..." Adora sighed, "I'll need to think about it."

"Yeah, sure thing, no pressure," Gary assured her, "It was just a thought. Not like I can make any promises anyway... I'm just a stockboy. Also, I kinda used up a bunch of goodwill recently to get some time off for this fancy get together."

"No way!" Bill exclaimed, "Where was this?"

"Oh, it was just this formal thing up in the Kingdom of the Snows," Gary explained, "Actually, it was mostly just chaperoning for this spoiled brat for her friend's birthday. I kinda owed her dad a favor. But anyways, don't worry about getting back to me right away. I'll have to check some things first anyway."

"Thanks," said Adora, barely feigning interest, "I'll... keep that in mind."

"I am curious as to why your rulers have not simply *given* you your assignments yet," spoke a Horde clone that sat silently throughout the meeting, "Are you not supposed to be designated to the occupation you were genetically engineered and created for?"

"I'm sorry, Lambda Omicron," Double Trouble explained, shaking the figurative cobwebs out of their head, "But here on Etheria, people aren't *made* for any specific purpose. They are just born, sometimes by accident, and they get to choose what it is *they* want to do with their lives. Figuring that out is half the fun of living."

"That sounds needlessly complicated..." the Horde clone observed, "What happens when one's chosen purpose is not useful to the Horde for that particular generation, or not enough people want to perform an essential service?"

"I would say that's an argument for a universal basic income and a wage increase for said essential services to increase demand..." Double Trouble grumbled under their breath, "But unfortunately none of Etheria's rulers seem to have figured that one out yet..."

"Okay, like, I wasn't gonna say anything..." Gary called out, "But what's the freaking Hordak doing here?"

"Yeah!" Bill cheered, "You know, you've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here! You guys are the whole reason we got canned in the first place!"

"Now, people, please!" Double Trouble ordered, trying to take back control of her meeting, "Let's keep this civil. There's no reason to make anyone feel unwelcome here. So, Lambda Omicron, would you like to tell us why you decided to come here today?"

"Well, the She-" the clone began, before stopping himself, "'Dory'... told me this was an anonymous group for supporting soldiers of the Horde and I wanted to see how the Etherian people's wanted to 'support' me and my brothers. But I now believe I may have... misunderstood her precise meaning... in a number of ways."

"Well, I'm sure someone like you must have led a very exciting life working for the Horde," Double Trouble encouraged, "Are there any old war stories you wanted to share with the group?"

Lambda Omicron silently scanned the room, looking into the eyes of each and every former Horde member that sat in a circle around him, glaring angrily at him.

"Umm... No, thank you..." he finally said nervously, looking down at the floor in shame.

"Well, does anyone else have anything they'd like to share?" Double Trouble offered to the group.

Double Trouble waited for almost a full second before getting up from their chair.

"Then I guess we should all call it a night," they declared, "Thank you all for coming and I hope to see you all at our next meeting. Feel free to grab some coffee and donuts on your way out."

The crowd grumbled and mumbled as they got up and began to disperse. Double Trouble started folding up chairs and putting them away as a few of the patrons gathered around the snack table. Adora folded up her own chair and put it away.

"Thanks for coming, Adora," Double Trouble greeted her, "And it looks like you've brought a friend with you."

"He's my bodyguard, assigned by the Horde..." Adora groaned, "I'm not supposed to leave his sight, so he insisted on coming... Sorry about that..."

"Oh, not a worry, sweetie," Double Trouble scoffed, "I meant what I said when I wanted everyone to feel welcome here. Thought I've noticed he seems a little... off... from the other Horde clones I've seen..."

"Yeah," Adora said, "Of all the clones I've run into, he's definitely the most... zealous one I've ever met. It's like all he wants to talk about is how great the Horde is and he makes this kind of sad, puppydog look whenever he finds out someone isn't absolutely in love with Horde Prime. I think this might be the first time he's ever had to interact with anyone who wasn't exactly the same as him."

"So this is the guy Catra showed you on your last night together?" asked Double Trouble, "Who she made pretend to be Hordak while she wanted you both to... y'know..."

"Yeah, he's always so eager to please her and everyone else around him even if he's not very good at it," Adora said, "Which is so weird because he really does look and sound *exactly* like Hordak. For him to be so... nice and friendly and accommodating feels so... wrong... He's a Wrong Hordak."

"Well, maybe if you spent more time with him, you could learn to differentiate the two Hordaks," Double Trouble suggested, "It sounds like you might actually like this one."

"I mean, I know he's from the Horde," Adora thought aloud, "But he's just so trusting and naive. You have no idea how easy it is for me to sneak out of Brightmoon when he's supposed to be guarding me. I almost feel guilty when I come back and he hasn't even realized I was gone."

"Well, if I was a paranoid person," said Double Trouble, "I would say that it was an intentional move on the part of the Horde to put the two of you together and make you begin to question your resistance to Horde rule. But that would require someone to have intimate knowledge of all your insecurities and your intense need to sacrifice your well being for other people."

Adora said nothing as she watched Lambda Omicron nervously walk over to them.

"My Apologies, my She-Ra," he said, his face strained with worry, "But it would appear that your associates greatly despise me. Do you know if I have done something to offend them? Have I brought shame to the Horde by my presence here?"

Adora simply covered her face with her palm and let out a big sigh.

"I'm sure it's nothing personal, Lambda Omicron," Double Trouble assured him, "These people have just been through a lot over the war with the princesses and they are right now adjusting to a major change in their lives now that it's over."

"But Horde Prime is the one who has brought an end to all war on Etheria!" Lambda Omicron explained, "Are they not grateful for his kind and benevolent leadership?"

"Look, let's just not worry about what everyone thinks of the Horde and the Princesses for a moment, okay?" Adora groaned, "It's late, and I really don't want to get into this right now."

"As you wish," Lambda Omicron said with a bow, "Is there anything else you require in Salineas before we make our return to Brightmoon?"

"Just... make sure the transport is ready to take us home," Adora ordered, "I'm just gonna say goodbye to everyone and then we can go."

"I shall make the preparations at once," Lambda Omicron assured her, "As always, it is a great honor to serve the She-Ra."

Lambda Omicron bowed once more before turning to leave.

"Before I forget," Double Trouble added, "I just wanted to mention that I really like the new bracelet you got. Did you get it in town?"

"No..." Adora replied, looking at her arm, "It was a gift from a friend... a family heirloom."

"Oh, I thought it looked familiar..." Double Trouble cooed, "Anyone I know?"

"Not anymore..." Adora answered, turning to leave, "They're gone now."

"Okay, then," Double Trouble called out, "Well, good night, Adora. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah..." Adora sighed, "Good night..."


	58. Bow, 1st Interrogation

Bow woke up, washed himself and trimmed and combed his new growing mustache before he got dressed.

"Good Morning, Commander," saluted Kyle as Bow stepped out of his tent, "Did you sleep alright?"

"I keep telling you, Kyle," Bow groaned, walking past him towards the communal kitchen, "Just call me, Bow. You're not in the Horde anymore, and I'm not a commander. We're all in this together, right?"

"Sorry, Mr. Bow, sir," Kyle winced, as he followed beside Bow into the larger tent, "It's just that... well... you have been doing this longer than anyone else here and you're the guy who's been coming up with all our battle plans. It just feels natural for you to be in charge."

Bow sighed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his fingers.

"How is our prisoner doing?" Bow asked Kyle, grabbing a bowl from a sorted pile by the entrance and waiting in the breakfast line up.

"Same as always," Kyle shrugged, getting in line behind him, "No matter what we ask him, he just says the same thing over and over again. 'Horde Unit Nu Sigma, Three two four eight eight, five hundred and sixty second ranger division, currently assigned to Director Catra of Etherian Affairs.'"

"I'm worried about that," Bow sighed, "Do you think it's possible that the sticky shockers damaged his brain when we captured him?"

"I don't think that's what's happening," answered Kyle, "You see, back in the Horde, officers who knew sensitive information were supposed to take a cyanide tablet to prevent them from talking to the rebels. But the rank and file soldiers were only told what they needed to know to complete the mission. So if we got captured, all we had to give out was our name, rank and CO and wait until we either could escape or be rescued. This was all standard stuff taught in the Horde, so I'm guessing it's something Hordak had carried over from these guys when he was working for them."

"So he's just a Horde grunt..." Bow thought aloud, stroking his chin, "But that doesn't mean he can't be useful to us. Most Etherians have never seen a Hordak up close before. This could be our chance to figure out exactly what we're dealing with, maybe find a weakness we can use against them."

"So you want to... what... dissect him?" Kyle suggested, "Take him apart to see the best way to kill them?"

"Ew, no!" Bow gagged in revulsion, "We're not trying to kill them. Just get them off our planet."

"Well... you see, Com- Mr. Bow, sir," Kyle stuttered nervously as he looked around the busy tent where everyone was eating, "The other guys have been talking and we're not entirely in sync with the whole... no killing... thing... Like... It made sense when we were fighting other Etherians... Heck, most of the people we spared during our early supply raids came around to joining us after the Princesses disbanded their armies. But these Hordaks... there's literally always more where they came from. So, why are we still holding back?"

"I understand it feels like we're pulling our punches right now, Kyle," Bow explained, holding out his bowl for a rotund woman to drop tiny egg quiches into it, "But our decision to use less lethal methods are as much a tactical choice as they are a moral one. You see what Catra's been sending against us right now? Lightly armored scouts armed with little more than energy rifles. The Horde has the edge on us in terms of manpower and firepower and the fact that they can shoot us down from orbit. Right now, our only advantage is that they're fighting on our turf, and they want to take us out without doing too much damage to the planet itself. But if we start killing their troops, then they're going to start using bigger and badder weapons against us and collateral damage is going to be much less of a concern for them. Right now, it's in our best interest to stop the conflict from escalating as much as possible, because we're not going to win in an all out war against the Horde."

"So what's the point of fighting at all if we can't beat them?" asked Kyle, taking a bottle of fizzy soda from a well dressed man with pointed ears.

"I'm not gonna lie, there's not many outcomes where we come out on top," Bow admitted, bringing his food over to one of the tables to sit down, "But it's not going to stay that way forever. Right now, our main goal is protecting ourselves with making as much of a nuisance as possible for the Horde being our secondary objective. Eventually, they're going to get complacent and make a mistake, and then we might be able to take advantage of the situation. Until then, all we can do for now is survive and keep building and training our forces."

"Okay, sir," Kyle replied, sitting across from him, "But people are starting to get restless. I don't know how long we can all hold out like this."

"It's not going to be easy Kyle," Bow said, taking a bite from his food, "But we've all got to do our part and keep fighting. Even if that just means staying alive long enough for someone else to save us."

Bow only ate a small amount of the food he took before he picked up his bowl and walked out of the tent towards a small shack made out of wood and scrap metal. The door that once was a part of a Horde Armored Personnel Carrier hissed open at his presence and he slid the bowl under the metal bars that separated him from the clone prisoner. The Horde clone simply sat at attention on the small cot provided for him, staring blankly into space.

"Good Morning, Buddy," Bow greeted, pointing at the bowl in front of him, "Didn't know what you guys eat, so I brought a little of everything. You've got some tiny egg quiches there, some fruit and vegetables we've grown fresh, some stale ration bars we took from a transport we hit last week and a slice of berry pie Madame Razz made for all of us."

The Horde clone looked briefly at the bowl of food in front of him before returning his gaze straight ahead into empty space.

"If you want, I could maybe go hunting for something," Bow offered, "Or scavenge for bugs, if you eat bugs."

The Horde continued to ignore Bow, staring dead ahead of him.

"So, you're a real live alien, huh?" Bow said, sitting down on a little chair facing the cell, "What's that like?"

"Horde Unit Nu Sigma..." the clone answered, "Three two four eight eight... five hundred and sixty second ranger division... currently assigned to Director Catra of Etherian Affairs..."

"Yeah, you say that alot," observed Bow, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair, "You know you don't have to answer any of my questions. You don't have to say anything at all, if you don't want to."

"Horde Unit Nu Sigma..." the clone repeated, "Three two four eight eight... five hundred and sixty second ranger division... currently assigned to Director Catra of Etherian Affairs..."

"I've been thinking about getting new boots," Bow told the clone, keeping his arms folded and not looking away from the alien, "These ones are starting to wear a bit thin. I think I'm starting to wear a hole at the bottom of my right one. What do you think?"

The Horde clone looked briefly at Bow's feet before resuming his endless stare.

"Horde Unit Nu Sigma..." the clone repeated again, "Three two four eight eight... five hundred and sixty second ranger division... currently assigned to Director Catra of Etherian Affairs..."

"Well, at least now we've established that you can understand what I'm saying to you," said Bow, relaxing his arms and scooting his chair forward, "You know, it wasn't too long ago, I was in your exact situation. Held in a cell by an enemy power, nothing to do but sit around all day and listen to my guard go on and on about his problems while I sat alone in a dirty cell. Actually the cell I was in was a lot cleaner than this one. Sorry about that... you can't expect much when you live in the woods. You know, my old guard is also part of the resistance right now. I was literally just talking to him before I came to see you. His name's Kyle, friendly guy, a little clumsy but he means well. Really eager to please."

The clone continued to stare intently into blank space.

"I guess you're last guard wasn't as nice to you," Bow replied, "Seeing as you broke her arm and all last night, when you tried to grab her keys."

"She should not have given me the opportunity," the clone stated, his voice gruff and harsh, "If I had so desired, I could have easily snapped her neck."

"So you didn't want to kill her," Bow translated, "That's something at least."

"She was not my objective," the clone explained, "My only intention was to retrieve her keys so I could leave this infernal place."

"Saying goodbye so soon?" Bow mocked, "But you only just got here. And after all the trouble you came to get here in the first place..."

"You are a soldier, are you not?" the clone answered, "You know the rules. The first duty of every prisoner of war is to escape at the first opportunity and report back to base."

"Is that where we're at now? War?" asked Bow, "You know, we didn't start any of this. Hordak was the one who came here and started conquering our lands. You're the ones with big spaceships hovering over our world. All you have to do to put a stop to this is go back on your spaceships and fly away and you'll never have to see us again. What did we ever do to you?"

"Do you truly think Horde Prime would send an entire battlefleet just to reclaim a single wayward clone from a primitive world?" the clone chuckled, "A single shuttle could perform that task. We are here because your world holds power you do not understand. That could spell disaster for the entire universe if not kept under our watchful eye."

"You're talking about the Heart of Etheria," Bow realized.

"So... you are not quite the ignorant savages we had first assumed," the clone laughed, "Suppose we did as you said: went back into our little worlds and never returned. How long before you stupid apes smashed a rock against the wrong switch and destroyed yourselves, taking who knows how many other worlds with you? We are here to protect your ungrateful lives, you backwards degener-AAARGH!"

The prisoner suddenly began screaming in agony and fell forward off the cot, clutching his chest with one claw and his head with the other as he continued to wriggle and writhe on the ground.

"Look, we're not going to fall for the old playing sick gag..." Bow explained, his expression growing more concerned as he pushed a button on his tablet, "Buuut I am going to call for extra guards and a medic just in case."

And just as suddenly as it had happened, the clone stopped convulsing and slowly picked himself back up on the cot. He opened his eyes to reveal they had changed from green to red.

"Thank you, Commander Bow, but that will not be necessary," the clone said, his tone no longer gruff and harsh, but soft and calm, barely reaching above a whisper, "My apologies for my earlier behavior. I am you guest, even if I am an unwilling one, and you deserve the barest modicum of respect for being able to capture me, at least."

"What happened there?" Bow inquired,"Are you going to be alright?"

"I am grateful for your concern," the clone replied, "It was merely a stress response to my emotional state. I simply have to learn to better control my anger. I believe you wanted to talk to me about how to end this conflict of ours?"

"Uhh..." Bow said in confusion, pushing the same button on his tracker pad to stop the alert, "Sure..."

"Tell me," the prisoner asked, "Do you know how many trillions upon trillions of worlds that are technically under Horde control?"

"The fact that you're asking me that question at all suggests more than a couple..." Bow guessed.

"It is far more than even our most skilled mathematicians are able to wrap their minds around," the clone answered, "There are so many worlds that fly the Horde banner that it is simply not feasible to forcibly occupy them all as we currently do Etheria. Over ninety nine percent of our worlds can go entire generations without seeing a single Horde ship or without a single one of my brothers setting foot upon it. And yet they still pledge themselves to us and serve us loyally, do you know why that is?"

"Because you've got them so scared of what might happen when they don't," Bow argued, "That if something goes just the little bit out of line, you'll come down hard on them just as hard as your coming down on us."

"In all my many years of service to the Horde, yours is an opinion I have found most disappointingly common and tiresome," the clone growled, "You believe that our Emperor is continually plotting to do you personal harm. That he cares deeply about how much you personally love or hate him. Let me tell you, that your view of the Horde is far too dramatic. The Horde is a government, no more, no less. It keeps billions of beings fed and clothed and, in truth, simply does not care about how its worlds choose to go about their business, only what benefit they provide to the greater whole. You say that all you want is for us to leave you alone, to go off in our spaceships and never bother you again. Let me say that *you* can be the one to make that happen in a very short amount of time. All that we ask in return is that you cease this childish tantrum of yours and allow us to complete our work in peace. Or you could continue to play war in your little hobbled together daycamp and bring unnecessary risk to the lives of your friends and colleagues fighting for some nebulous concept of personal freedom. The choice is yours, Commander Bow."

"I'm sorry to say that I'm not very inclined to take you at your word right now," Bow argued, "And it's not even my choice to make. This whole resistance is bigger than any one person. This is about everyone, all the people of Etheria, speaking out and saying we're not going to let you push us around anymore. You say you don't have any malice towards us, but a dragon can sit on a horse, crushing it for years on end, without feeling an ounce of malice against it, without haven't any consideration of the horse whatsoever. The horse, on the other hand, isn't just gonna take being sat on without at least forming some kind of opinion on the dragon. So we're gonna make each and every one of your lives as inconvenient as possible until you all get off us!"

"I am sorry you feel that way, Commander," the clone sighed, "But I could hardly be expected to convince you of the folly of your self-destructive philosophy over the course of a single discussion. I simply ask that you keep my words in mind over the coming days and you will see for yourself that we mean you no real harm. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Yeah, whatever," Bow groaned, "Don't mention it."

Bow continued to watch the clone as he cautiously ate the breakfast Bow gathered for him. It wasn't long before Lonnie came bursting in.

"I got your call for a medic, boss!" Lonnie called out, gasping to catch her breath, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Bow said, getting up from the chair, "Looks like it was just a false alarm. Thanks for checking up on me, anyway."

"You feeling alright, boss?" Lonnie offered, "I can take over guard duty, if you want."

"Thanks," Bow said, throwing his tablet to her, "Hit me on the tracker pad if anything comes up."

"See you soon, Commander..." the clone whispered, giving a small smirk as he watched Bow leave.

Lonnie watched the clone carefully as the doors to the shack hissed shut. With Bow gone, the clone's smile quickly faded into a look of intense rage as his eyes returned to their normal green color.

"Rative primates!" the clone roared in anger, his voice no longer soft and calm, but just as harsh and gruff as it was before, "We are the superior race and the sooner you accept... that... Excuse me, did you just grow out your hair and change your clothes and gender while I was talking?"

~*~

First Interrogation of the Rebel Commander, Bow  
Horde Unit Theta Rho reporting

-Took over monitoring Nu Sigma's subdermal implants when it was reported the rebel commander had begun his interrogation.  
-On first impression, subject seems ill equipped and inexperienced in matters of information extraction, but this may be an attempt to lull Nu Sigma into a false sense of security.  
-Subject betrays a severe lack of knowledge of Horde biology and culture, uncertain if this is another deception on his part, but appears unlikely.  
-On second examination, subject appears to be well versed in building a rapport with his prisoners, giving food to induce positive feelings, attempting to find common ground to induce discussion, attempts to show sympathy.  
-Subject has managed to establish a theme for the interrogation, albeit with not much subtlety.  
-Subject has revealed the rebellion is aware of our operations to restore the Heart of Etheria, will need to monitor this development closely.  
-Nu Sigma's personality proved ill suited for a productive conversation with the rebel commander, so I temporarily relieved him of his bodily functions for the duration of our visit.  
-The rebel's motivation has become clear to me and it is as unreasonable as it is depressingly dull, I doubt nothing less than total annihilation of their command structure will be sufficient to end this overblown political demonstration.  
-Will continue to monitor rebel activities in preparation for our attack. With the Director's assistance, I hope to bring an end to this rebellion with one swift stroke.


	59. Entrapta, Session 2

Double Trouble carefully walked along the empty caverns of She-Ra's crystal castle, looking up at intricate indentations that decorated its walls. They slide there finger along one of the lines as they walked and rubbed the dust against their thumb.

"This place could really use a maid..." Double Trouble thought aloud, before looking at the net of sticky green webbing that blocked one of the cave entrances, "Or an entire haz-mat team... Entrapta! Are you around?! I was getting worried when you didn't show up for our appointment and just wanted to check up on you! Not for nothing, but it is really hard to tell which way is which in here! So if you could tell me where you were, I'd really appreciate it!"

Double Trouble continued to wander aimlessly until a door that they originally thought was just a wall decoration hissed open. Double Trouble was taken aback at the red eyed gaze of the tall imposing figure that exited it.

"Hordak..." Double Trouble gasped, "Is Entrapta around here? Is she okay?"

The Hordak shaped figure stepped forward, the light revealing the metal skin that covered its entire body.

"Meemeemeep?" the robot chirped an inquisitive tone.

"Okay... that's new..." Double Trouble observed, "And more than a little worrying..."

"Meep, meemee meemeemeep!" the robot beeped excitedly as its claws gripped tight around Double Trouble's wrist, "Meemeemeemeemeep!"

"Ouch! Let go!" Double Trouble ordered the robot, falling backwards onto the ground as it complied.

"Meep! Meemeep!" the robot continued beeping as it picked up Double Trouble off the ground and stood them up before dusting off their shoulder.

"Uh, thanks..." Double Trouble said, "So about Entrapta-"

"MEEP!" the robot loudly interrupted, grabbing Double Trouble by the shoulders and shaking them, "MEMEMEMEMEEEEEEEP!"

"I'm sor-ry," Double Trouble as the robot continued to shake them frantically, "I don't know if your trying to tell me something or what? Is Entrapta all right? Did she fall down a well or something?"

The robot stopped shaking Double Trouble and knelt down to wrap it's arms around them, weeping motor oil onto their shoulder and whining loudly.

"It's okay..." Double Trouble said, nervously returning the hug and patting the machine on the back, "There, there. Just take me to Entrapta and I'll see what I can do."

"Meep!" the robot cried out in joy as it grabbed Double Trouble by the hand again and pulled them into the winding corridors.

Double Trouble could barely keep up with the robot as it dragged them along like a cargo trailer. They didn't have time to notice how far the robot was leading them inside the crystalline complex before they were already lost again. Eventually, the robot opened up another door to another pitch black room, let go of Double Trouble arm and forcibly pushed them into the room before closing the door again.

"What the heck was that?!" Double Trouble screamed as they pounded on the door, trying to get it to open again, "Let me out of here, you malfunctioning automaton!"

After a few seconds of pounding, Double Trouble gave up and waited for their eyes to adjust. The room appeared to be much smaller than what they were expecting, the only light coming from a large television screen shining onto a mess of tangled purple hair that had wadded together into gigantic ball that was twice as wide as Double Trouble was tall. Next to the furry blob sat a pile of tiny cups and spoons that was almost equal in height. Double Trouble wanted to stop looking at the disgusting mess and their eyes were drawn to the large screen which depicted a small child sized insect creature with green chitin wearing red clothes and black gloves and eating a tall plate of waffles served by a smaller robot of wearing a green dog costume.

"You know these are pretty good..." the creature commented as they chewed, "What's in them?"

"There's waffle love in them!" cheered the tiny robot.

"YOU'RE LYING!" screeched the insect creature, pointing an accusing finger at the robot.

"What even is this garbage?" Double Trouble said incredulously.

"Hector?" replied a familiar nasally voice, albeit very groggily, "Is that you? Did you somehow fix your voice processor by yourself? I'm sorry, I've been meaning to get to that, but I just haven't been feeling up to doing anything lately..."

Double Trouble backed away in fear from the horrifying wad of purple fur as it shifted and moved, as if it were alive. They almost began to scream in terror when Entrapta's begoggled head poked out from it.

"Oh, it's you..." Entrapta exclaimed lethargically, "What are you doing here?"

"Entrapta?" cried Double Trouble nervously, "Is that you? You missed our session today. I was worried something bad had happened."

"Oh, was that today?" Entrapta sighed, slowly receding back into her hair, "Sorry, I must have completely lost track of time. I've been watching entertainment transmissions from other worlds all night."

"Yeah, I noticed something smelled a little funny in here," Double Trouble observed, "You should probably have a shower or something. Or at least wash your hair..."

"I used to watch them with Hordak every night..." Entrapta explained, completely ignoring Double Trouble's suggestion, "This one was his favorite. He never said it out loud, but I could tell. He told me he really identified with the alien conqueror who strived to impress his leaders despite them only showing him disinterest and scorn. I always thought he was more like that single father superscientist with the two kids. He used to get so flustered when I told him I liked the idea of us raising kids like that... Hector was sort of our compromise..."

"Okay, Entrapta..." Double Trouble said, wincing as they closed their eyes and threw their hand into the mess of hair to look for her, "This isn't you. Tell me what's going on."

"It's nothing..." Entrapta denied as she hid in her nest, "It's fine... I'm fine... There's nothing to worry about..."

"You're not fine, you are literally drowning in your own hair," Double Trouble argued as they continued to fish around inside.

When they finally felt cold, clammy skin on their fingers, Double Trouble held on tight and pulled, dragging Entrapta's near comatose body out of the monstrous beast consuming her. Her purple pajamas were stained with black pudding spills.

"Now stop being a baby and tell me what happened!" Double Trouble ordered, pulling off Entrapta's goggles to look at her vacant eyes, "Where's Hordak? I thought he was supposed to be taking care of you."

"Hordak..." Entrapta repeated dreamily, "Hordak's gone..."

"What, to get groceries or something?" asked Double Trouble, "Where is he?"

"He's gone!" Entrapta screeched, causing Double Trouble to jump back in surprise, "He's gone and he's never coming back!"

"What do you mean he's gone?" Double Trouble demanded, "He's not... dead... is he?"

"Worse!" Entrapta cried, tears streaming down her eyes, "He broke up with me! He left me forever!"

"What are you even talking about?" Double Trouble groaned, "Why would Hordak leave you? Hordak loves you! You said yourself he used to say it every night!"

"And now he's never going to say it again!" Entrapta whined, "Not like he used to!"

"Why do you say that?" Double Trouble asked again, "What possible reason could Hordak have for wanting to leave you?"

"It's all my fault!" Entrapta sniffled as she slowly began to panic, "I was feeling depressed because we stopped giving him his amnesia drugs and I pushed him away! I made him think I didn't love him anymore! I'm a terrible lab partner!"

"Now, now, Entrapta," Double Trouble said, patting Entrapta on the shoulder, "Did Hordak say that was the reason he left?"

"Not directly," Entrapta answered, "He said he wanted to protect me from himself! That he wanted me to stop letting him ruin my relationship with the other princesses! That I deserved my space! WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! WHO TALKS LIKE THAT?!"

"Aaah... crap..." Double Trouble sighed under their breath.

"What?" Entrapta exclaimed, quickly getting up to grab Double Trouble by the collar, "What did I do wrong?! You're the brain expert! TELL ME!"

"Now, Entrapta..." Double Trouble gagged, "Promise me you won't get mad..."

"I promise I will go mad if you don't TELL ME!" Entrapta screamed.

"So..." Double Trouble slowly admitted, their voice getting higher with each inflection, "Hordak did tell me he noticed you were being moody after I told you to stop giving him the drugs. I didn't want to tell him why I thought you were so moody because of the whole keeping it a secret from Horde Prime. So I told him the two of you could probably use some time apart to sort out your feelings. I may have also suggested that Hordak... go out... and... meet... other... people..."

Entrapta's head tilted slightly and her eye twitched for a second before her hair snapped into action and wrapped itself around Double Trouble body.

"Ack!" Double Trouble gagged, wriggling against her hair, "Entrapta... I... can't... breathe..."

"YES! THAT'S BECAUSE I'M CHOKING YOU, RIGHT NOW!" shouted Entrapta, as she wrapped her fingers around Double Trouble's throat, "HOW! COULD! YOU! DO! THIS! TO US?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU RUINED THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME?!"

"I know... and I'm sorry..." Double Trouble wheezed, "I was just trying... to help..."

"HELP?!" Entrapta screamed back, pulling their face so close to hers that her saliva sprayed onto them, "I'M SUPPOSED TO BE MONITORING HORDAK'S CONDITION RIGHT NOW AS HE COMES OFF THE DRUGS I'VE BEEN GIVING HIM! HOW CAN I DO THAT WHILE HE'S STUCK IN PRISON!"

"I screwed up, I know!" Double Trouble gasped, "Just... let me go... so I can figure out a way to fix this..."

Entrapta slowly relaxed her grip and dropped Double Trouble onto the floor.

"I'm listening..." Entrapta said, folding her arms in a pout as her hair made her look like she was hovering menacingly over the chameleon.

"Okay..." Double Trouble groaned, getting up as they struggled to catch their breath, "First things first... I need to call Seahawke to tell him I'm going to be late for today's rehearsal. Next, we both need to get showered and changed. After that, I'm taking you to hair salon and then I'm going to buy you some new clothes... We're going to make Hordak regret ever wanting to leave you!"

~*~

DT's Notes

Entrapta, Session 2  
-Entrapta missed her session today and her introverted nature makes me worried that if something bad happened to her, no one would even notice for at least a week  
-Remind me to thank Adora for the directions to the Crystal Castle ruins  
-Remind me to ask Adora for a map next time I have to come here  
-Met Entrapta's robot butler Hector, he seems nice... in a creepy replacement boyfriend kind of way...  
-Entrapta appears to have gone off the deep end. Stress eating and binge watching TV... at least I'm assuming this is abnormal behavior for her.  
-Claims Hordak broke up with her, after everything I just went through with him, I find this very hard to believe. It's probably just an issue with miscommunication  
-It is possible that they may share an asphyxiation kink...  
-In retrospect, I should probably have entered into at least 1 successful romantic relationship with another person before I started giving out professional relationship advice to other people...


	60. Swiftwind, 1st Interrogation

Nu Sigma stirred on the hard cot in their cell, his ears flicked at the sound of the local wildlife singing, chirping and whistling outside. The noise had gotten so loud it was as almost as if the entire forest was with him in the tiny shack made out of scrap metal. When a rooster crowed loudly enough, Nu Sigma bolted upright to make sure a creature didn't somehow sneak into his cell. He looked over at the guard posted in front of him, a metal sphere on three legs with a purple light staring intently at him. Convinced his ears were simply too used to operating in the soundless void of space, Nu Sigma closed his eyes again and sat in meditation on the cot, only for the rooster to crow again, directly into his left ear. Nu Sigma bolted away from the sound in fright and saw a tiny creature sitting on the cot, next to where he was sitting not a moment ago. It looked like a small baby with solid yellow eyes, dark grey skin, a tuft of black hair on its head, a long thin tail forked like an arrowhead and two tiny wings coming out of it's back.

"Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!" the creature chirped happily in a perfect recreation of a roosters crow.

"What is this thing?" Nu Sigma asked, backing away from the creature in revulsion, "Some kind of hideous Etherian experiment created to mock us?"

"Some kind of hideous Etherian experiment to mock us?" the creature repeated, perfectly imitating Nu Sigma's voice, as it flew up to the clone to closely examine it.

"Get away from me, you disgusting abomination!" Nu Sigma snarled, swatting at the small creature, striking it with the back of his claw.

The creature fell to the ground with an expression of stunned confusion as it looked up at the prisoner towering over it. After a few seconds, tears began welling up in its eyes and, without making a noise, it flew between the cell bars onto a large white unicorn with a long orange mane and bright pink wings on it's back.

"It's okay, little guy. I'm here for you," the horse whispered, using his wings to carefully caress the small creature as it silently wept, before turning his attention to the prisoner, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! IT IS JUST A BABY! HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!"

"Keep that thing away from me!" Nu Sigma ordered.

"Oh, don't worry!" the unicorn shouted angrily at the prisoner, "I'm going to make sure you're never close enough to hurt it ever again!"

The unicorn used his wings to carefully pick up the tiny creature off his back and onto the small globular robot that was standing guard.

"Here, Emily, take him over to Madame Razz and go recharge," the unicorn ordered, "I'll take over for you."

The robot chirped a response and began walking out the door, carrying the little one on top of it, when the unicorn stopped it again.

"Oh, hold up a second! I should probably tell her what happened," the unicorn realized, hunching over to look the small creature in the eye, "Hey, Razz? It's Swiftwind. Can you keep an eye on the little guy for me? The rambunctious tyke somehow got into the holding cells and got hit by the prisoner, so he needs some of your good old fashioned TLC, okay? Thanks."

The tiny creature hugged the unicorn's snout, who gave a small whinny as he nuzzled him back. Swiftwind smiled as he watched the robot leave the shack, but his expression quickly hardened after the doors hissed closed.

"You are reaaaally lucky my friends want to keep you alive and unharmed, buddy..." Swiftwind threatened as he glared angrily at the prisoner, "Because my horn isn't just for looking pretty... and few things in this world tick me off more that people who abuse children..."

"I will not be lectured to by some common farm animal..." Nu Sigma growled.

"Oh? Really?" Swiftwind laughed, "Because I don't think you have any choice in the matter, right now. If there's one thing I now how to do, it's talk!"

"You may have me at your mercy now..." Nu Sigma hissed, "But my brothers will come for you and all your so-called allies! You cannot hide forever in this primitive jungle and you cannot withstand our power! We are the light that shines in the blackest cosmos! We are the species that stands supreme over all others! We are the endless Horde!"

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the wartime propaganda, Oh Supreme Ubermensh," mocked Swiftwind, "I know all I need to about you and your Horde..."

"You know nothing about me and my brothers," Nu Sigma snarled, "And that is why you will lose! Your resistance is nothing more than a mild nuisance, a minor obstacle on our path to bring peace to the entire universe!"

"Yep, sure is peaceful," Swiftwind snarked, "Sending your armies and warships to conquer every world you can find. Nothing says peace like perpetual war!"

"And I suppose you would rather be ruled by your precious princesses and royal bloodlines," Nu Sigma snarked back, "Can you honestly say your lives were better serving as their serfs and peasants?"

"Now, don't get me wrong," Swiftwind shot back, "I've got nohoho love for the feudal monarchy we had under the princesses, and I'll be marching against them next if they aren't willing to support a system that provides equitable government representation to all the peoples of Etheria. But right now, you guys are the greater evil here, not them. And I'm not going to refuse their help if it means stopping the Horde and all it's warmongering."

"Our incursions are temporary measure to bring the other worlds in line," Nu Sigma explained, "When it is all over and we have completed purging our enemies from the universe, those that survive will see a new order in the universe, one of everlasting peace and prosperity under the Horde!"

"When it's all over?" Swiftwind repeated, "I hate to break it to you, pal, but you're never going to 'complete your great purge' because you're never going to run out of enemies to fight. Because you make everything that is different from you your enemy."

"And that shows just how ignorant you truly are of the one great Horde," Nu Sigma chuckled, "Our empire contains trillions of worlds with trillions of different sentient species all flying our banner on their capital cities."

"Oh, I don't doubt you're willing to keep different races around as long as their useful to you," Swiftwind retorted, "Hordak's Horde *loved* to profess how inclusive they were in subjugating other species. But after they're no more use to you as an ally, you'll turn on them just like you did against our little friend there. And it's usually last in, first out with you people, am I right?"

"All we ask for our subjects is their complete loyalty," Nu Sigma argued, "If they turn against us, we will destroy them like any other enemy! Those that survive will live to see our glorious ascension and a true perfect universe! Even if it means having to exterminate every other species to do it, we will have peace and perfection!"

"Wrongooo!" Swiftwind cheered, "You're not going to stop finding other people to blame for your problems, because 'destroying your enemy' doesn't actually fix anything! You'll just keep killing and killing and nothing's going to actually get any better. So when you finally do exterminate every other species in existence, which, if you're not stopped, you will, you'll just find something about yourselves to sort into some nebulous 'other'. Maybe this clone doesn't have the right shade of black hair. Maybe that clone has different eyes or skin color... Maybe there's no physical difference between you at all and you just start killing people at random because they didn't say the right thing fast enough. The point is eventually you're just going to keep on killing until finally there will be too few of you left to survive on your own."

"You know nothing about us," Nu Sigma roared in anger, "I would never turn against my fellow brothers."

"I literally just saw you hit something because it didn't look exactly like you," Swiftwind shouted back, "We don't even know where it came from. We just saw it wandering around one day, lost and aimless in the woods, and took it in. For some reason, it really likes hanging around Emily... But anyways... for all we know, it *was* one of your brothers. It probably snuck in here because it thought you were its long lost mommy or something."

"We do not have 'mommy's'," snarled Nu Sigma, "We are grown as perfect genetic duplicates: tailor-made for the purpose for which we are chosen to be created. There is no purpose in creating a disgusting creature such as that..."

"Like I said, 'Last in, First out'..." Swiftwind said, rolling their eyes, "You're not some glorious master race here to bring about peace and prosperity to us lesser beings. You're just a suicidal death cult that will eventually cannibalize itself because your way of life is simply not sustainable."

Swiftwind glared at the prisoner, waiting for a response. Nu Sigma simply sat back down on his cot and closed his eyes to meditate.

"You know why Bow said he didn't want you hurt..." Swiftwind sighed, "He'll explain it away as pragmatically wanting to retard escalation and retaliation from the Horde. But the truth is, he just thinks it's the right thing to do, because Bow is a kind and caring person. But if you ask me... the kindest thing would be to put you all out of your misery before you hurt anyone else."

"If that is correct, then tell me... beast..." Nu Sigma whispered, "What truly makes you any different from me or my brothers?"

"Oh, we're going with that classic canard, huh?" Swiftwind chuckled, "Okay, if you want a difference between us, how's this? Do you know what you can do right now to stop me from wanting to kill you?"

Swiftwind paused for dramatic effect as Nu Sigma stared at him silently.

"Nothing!" Swiftwind happily replied to his own question, his eyes wide with excitement, "All you have to do to stop me wanting to kill you is nothing! Don't hurt people just for being different! Don't support a genocidal fascist dictatorship! Take off that uniform and do anything, literally anything, different from what you're doing right now! Just don't be an evil monster and we might even be friends! Well, probably not, but you never know... And what really makes us different is I don't think there is anything me, Bow or any other Etherian can do to stop you from wanting to hurt us. No matter how much we change ourselves, no matter how loyal we can profess to be, no matter how much we all help you fight your glorious war against the rest of the universe, you will still find some small, petty reason to hate us. And that's why you have to be stopped, by any means necessary. This isn't a war we're fighting against you, it's self defense. I'm not talking about killing you to punish you for the things you've done, I'm talking about protecting the people I care about from the things you're going to do."

"Do you expect me to believe any of the meaningless nonsense that spews from your endlessly tiresome tirade?" Nu Sigma growled.

"Oh, I don't care if you believe a single word I say," Swiftwind explained cheerfully, "I'm just killing time while I watch over you to make sure you don't hurt any more of my friends. Don't know if you've noticed yet, but I looove the sound of my own voice. And, whether I like it or not, Bow wants to keep you here for verrry long time so he can get all the info he can out of you. So I'm going to take advantage of this fine opportunity to get a captive audience."

"I think I would prefer it if you just killed me..." Nu Sigma grumbled.

~*~

Intel from my incarceration by the Etherian Rebel Insurgents, Day 1  
Nu Sigma Reporting

-Only one day in their care and I am already beginning to question my sanity as I remain their prisoner. Today I had somehow managed to convince myself I had a endless political conversation with a talking horse. I request a full psychiatric examination after I am recovered by my brothers.


	61. Mermista's Journal, Day Whatever

Mermista groaned as she rolled over in the hard, uncomfortable bed. Her head and side burned with agonizing pain. In the darkness, she felt a presence watching over her, something large and powerful that loomed over her.

"Who's there?" Mermista grumbled to the silhouette.

"It's alright," a calm caring voice called out, "I thought you would be hungry so I made you breakfast."

The figure rolled a table over towards Mermista's bed and she could smell the familiar tangy stench of vinegar on top of deep fried slices of fish and potatoes.

"Mom..." Mermista groaned, having recognized her favorite meal of fish and chips, "Is that you?"

"There, there," the woman said, placing a wet cloth over Mermista's forehead, "Just relax... You've been asleep for almost nine hours now. You were a little hungover, so I let you sleep in."

"I had a horrible nightmare..." Mermista explained wearily, "There were giant spiders and robots on fire and evil alien clone invaders with big knives and I got into a fight with a friend who didn't deserve it..."

"Well, don't worry..." the woman replied, "You'll be safe and sound with me. No giant spiders here in the Fright Zone..."

"The Fright Zone!" Mermista repeated in surprise, her eyes jutting open in shock and she sat bolt upright in bed.

The lights in the room turned on to reveal the black and red architecture of Hordak's Horde in the room around her. Sitting at the side of her bed was a large muscular woman with short white hair and huge red scorpion claws. Mermista began to crawl away from her, and then pulled the bedsheets over herself when she realized she wasn't wearing anything underneath them.

"Oh! No! Don't get up!" Scorpia called out in a bright friendly voice as she grabbed the tray beside her, "I've got your breakfast right here. Seahawke said it was your favorite for when you weren't feeling too good."

Scorpia folded out some stands for the tray and placed it over Mermista's lap.

"What happened?" Mermista cried out, "Where are my clothes?"

"Oh, they should be coming out of the laundry any minute now," Scorpia explained, "Sorry about that. I had to get them in right away so the blood wouldn't. Trust me when I say it's much easier to deal with that sooner rather than later. I was gonna bring them in as soon as they were done."

"Oh... That's right..." Mermista moaned, "We got into a fight, didn't we? Something about Hordak... and Catra..."

"Now don't you worry about that!" Scorpia ordered, placing the tray in front of her, "You just focus on getting better! The medical scanners said the rib'll take a couple weeks to fully heal, but you're a magical princess, so who's to say, really. Now, where did that cold patch get to?"

Scorpia began feeling around under Mermista's covers as she wiggled around her big claw to avoid touching it against her bare skin.

"There we go!" Scorpia called out, placing an ice cold fabric against Mermista's side, "Must have fallen off when you were rolling around in the middle of the night. That feel better?"

"Thanks..." replied Mermista as she began to eye Scorpia suspiciously, "Why are you being so nice to me after I kicked your tail last night?"

"I mean... I'm the one who started it..." Scorpia scoffed before lowering her voice to a low rumble, "And it's not like I was the first one to go down..."

Mermista looked at her plate carefully picked up one of the fries and dipped it in a white sauce before taking a small bite.

"What did you say?" asked Mermista as she chewed.

"Nothing..." said Scorpia, nervously shaking her head, "What I mean is that, you got hurt and it was my fault. So I'm the one who has to take care of you. It's only fair, right? And it's not exactly safe to for you to move around too much."

"No offense," Mermista sighed, grabbing another fry, "But I would rather be anywhere than here right now..."

Mermista looked over room until her eyes were drawn to the end table by her side. On it sat a few red jewels, a decorated egg, small stuffed scorpion doll and a picture of two grown women with Scorpion claws. The one on the right was tall and broad shouldered with short dark hair, the other slim and slender with a bob of white hair. They held a small baby between them that Mermista recognized instantly.

"Are these your parents?" asked Mermista pointing her fry at the picture.

"Oh, yeah," Scorpia said, turning the picture to face them better, "At least, I'm pretty sure they are. I didn't get to see much of them before they left."

"They left you?" Mermista said, eating more from her plate.

"All the Scorpions left the Fright Zone after Hordak took over, so he's the one who raised me," Scorpia explained, "Well, sort of... He put me under the care of a bunch of different Force Captains over the years. I never really stayed in one place long enough to make friends. There was Force Captain Grizzlor, Force Captain Leech, Force Captain Huntara before she went missing on a mission to the Crimson Wastes. I think she was my favorite. She used to take me out camping all the time near the Whispering Woods. Well, technically it was survival training, but we had fun anyway. After that I was transferred over to Octavia for amphibian operations training. I'm not one not to brag, but these girls make for really good paddles when they need to be."

Scorpia snapped her claws in pride.

"After that, I was placed in Horde Special Operations under the direct command of Shadow Weaver," Scorpia concluded, "And, well, the rest is history..."

The door to the bedroom hissed open and a Horde clone with shoulder length curly black hair walked in. Mermista again pulled the covers up to her neck.

"Is the Salineas Princess ready for transit?" Beta Sigma inquired, looking almost bored, "It is dangerous for the two of you to be in such close proximity."

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU PERVERT!" Mermista screamed at him, picking up the plushy scorpion doll and throwing it at him.

The scorpion made a soft squeak as it bounced off the clone's unflinching face.

"I will remain outside until you are ready," Beta Sigma growled as he stepped back through the open doorway.

"What is *he* still doing here?!" Mermista shouted, "I thought the whole point of catching the assassin meant we didn't have to deal with this security detail anymore!"

"Well, you see, even though you say we caught the guy and he confessed..." Scorpia winced, "The Horde still thinks it's too dangerous for us to relax on all their protection measures just yet."

"Uggh..." Mermista groaned, tearing into her plate with gusto, "I should have known this was gonna happen... This whole poisoning thing was just the excuse they needed to clamp down on us. This isn't about our protection, the Horde just wants to keep a close eye on all of us while keeping us separated so we can't talk to each other."

"I mean... yeah?" Scorpia agreed, "You didn't think Hordak giving a false confession was going to actually fix anything, did you?"

"I don't believe this..." Mermista snarked as she ate, "From what you just told me, Hordak stole you away from your parents, passed you off from bad parent to bad parent, tried to ruin any hope of you having a normal relationship with people, and yet, you *still* think he's innocent in all this?"

"Well, not innocent about the whole trying to take over Etheria thing, no..." Scorpia admitted, "But I'm certain he didn't poison that cake! Don't ask me how I know. It's like an... instinct."

"You just can't help stepping up to the defense of the worst people in Etheria, huh, Scorpia?" Mermista sighed, "Hordak... your best friend, Catra... Next you'll be telling me things aren't too bad with Horde Prime in charge."

"Okay, first? Just because I don't want anything bad to happen to Catra doesn't mean we're back to being friends again!" Scorpia argued, "I'm willing to work with her to keep the peace with Horde Prime, but that's as far as our relationship goes right now. I broke things off between us and I meant it. Secondly, Horde Prime diiid kind of end the war between the princesses and bring peace to Etheria, just saying..."

"What peace?" Mermista shouted, nearly spilling her food on the floor, "The Horde has us fighting against our own subjects! They are literally preparing us all to go to war against other planets!"

"Okay, you're right! I'm sorry..." Scorpia placated her, holding onto the tray with her claw, "It's just I always try to see the bright side to every situation. And that's getting alot harder to do nowadays."

"And don't you think that might be part of the problem, Scorpia?" Mermista groaned, "That you're always willing to give so much benefit of the doubt to people who have done nothing to deserve it. Sometimes people are just bad people and pretending they're not all that bad isn't going to change anything."

"Look, I know. I get it. You hate me and everyone else who was in the Horde and there's nothing I can do or say to change your mind," Scorpia sighed, picking up Mermista's empty tray and walking towards the door, "So I'm just gonna leave you alone, now. There's a pad on the table beside you. Just call me if you want anything else."

"No, Scorpia, stop!" Mermista ordered, grabbing Scorpia by the tail, "I don't want to be alone like this, just in case that guy comes back. You keep saying I hate you, but that's not true! I don't hate you, Scorpia, I feel sorry for you. You're a nice person. Too nice. Because someone as nice as you doesn't deserve to have such awful people as friends. Hordak... Catra... Me..."

Scorpia snapped her tail out of Mermista's grasp and placed the tray back on the rolling table, before returning back to Mermista's bedside.

"Hey..." Scorpia told Mermista, putting a caring claw on her shoulder, "Don't talk like that, okay? I know Catra hurt you. She hurt a lot of people before the end. And I get that you wanted a little payback for everything she's done. Like, trust me: I get it. I just want people to stop trying to hurt one another, okay? There's enough of that going around as it is."

"Okay, Scorpia..." Mermista sighed, "Thanks for... well... everything. I don't think there's anyone else in Etheria I would rather have taking care of me right now."

Mermista placed her hand around Scorpia's neck, letting the bedsheets fall to her waist, before she pulled herself up to Scorpia's face to kiss her on the lips. Scorpia sat frozen stiff and wide eyed staring into space as Mermista slowly laid back down in be.

"Oh w-wow!" Scorpia stammered, shaking her head in confusion, "W-what was that?!"

"Sorry," Mermista winced, "It just... felt right."

"I mean, it felt good, sure, but..." Scorpia stumbled as she tried to process what just happened, "I mean I thought you... and Inspector Pirate Guy... But you just... with me... and I... I need to go now..."

Scorpia got up in a jolt and picked up the tray one last time before speed walking out the door, leaving Mermista alone in her room.

"Uggh..." Mermista groaned loudly, trying to hide underneath the covers, "What is wrong with me today..?"


	62. Seahawke, Lesson 5

Hordak tinkered with the laser cannon on his arm and growled in satisfaction as it powered up in his hand. He playfully aimed it like a toy at various targets around his sanctum before he pointed it at an actor in green makeup and a long lime blonde wig.

"Ack!" Double Trouble screamed as they mimed being shot by Hordak's laser, "You got me! Urgggh..."

Hordak lowered his cannon arm and gave a dismissive snort at the chameleon lying on his workbench.

"Uggh, I know, I know," Double Trouble sighed, "No one is allowed in Hordak's super secret sanctum. Not since you let that princess in."

Hordak gritted his teeth with a quiet feral growl.

"What makes something a sanctum anyway?" Double Trouble said, getting up to get a closer look at Hordak's arm cannon, "No small talk? I thought I would at least get a pat on the back for my daring escape. It's too bad, though. I was looking forward to meeting this Entrapta character before I left Brightmoon. But of course, as you know, she wasn't there."

"What did you say?" Hordak breathed softly.

"Oh, you don't need to keep up the charade with me," Double Trouble snickered, "I figured out the truth: You had Catra send Entrapta to Beast Island, so She-Ra would run off to rescue her. A brilliant idea! The perfect distraction! I have to applaud your work, you really had me going. So scorned by Entrapta's betrayal... Even now, you look like you had no idea..."

Hordak said nothing as he looked at the ground in shame.

"Brava!" cheered Double Trouble, "I mean, I did consider the alternative: That Catra's been lying to you this whole time. That she made you think she was your partner in crime, while really, she is the one who betrayed you. But, between you and me, there is no way she's that good an actor. Well, I'll leave you too it. Congrats again! Good work all around!"

But before Double Trouble could exit Hordak's sanctum, notes from a piano began to play and Hordak smashed his worktable in rage.

"Catra..." growled Hordak, before his features softened as he began to sing, "Entrapta... Oh, my poor sweet Entrapta... I want her, need her, crave her, yes, it's true... But she not the only one I currently want to screeew..."

Hordak showed off a framed photo of Catra as he picked up a power drill and put it up to the blue eye in the photo, boring into the glass and wood and colored paper. The houselights went up, revealing Catra, She-Ra, Glimmer and Bow standing nearby, posed in a still position of them fighting one another.

"I want to shoot her with an arrow," Hordak sang, taking an arrow from Bow's quiver and stabbing her in the back.

"Ow, not that hard," Catra complained, breaking her perfect stillness.

"I want to blast her in the eyeees," Hordak sang, throwing a puff of pink glitter into her face.

"Ack! Some of it got in my mouth!" Catra gagged, covering her face.

"I was to liberate her head from her neck," Hordak sang, swinging around She-Ra's Sword of Protection, "And then punt the bloody wreck sky hiiigh!"

"Woah, careful where you swing that thing!" Catra ordered, ducking under his swings.

"I want to hurl her out a windooow!" Hordak sang, as he picked up Catra by the waist and tossed her offstage to the sound of a loud crash, "And plant explosives where the sun doesssn't shine! Impale her on a spike and slow-ly twist it, deep inside her re-pro-duc-tive sys-tem... Won't... that... beee... deee... viiine..? Then she'll be miiine..."

"Good!" called out Seahawke from his place in the audience seating area, "Now then... This is where Double Trouble turns into Entrapta... Smoke!"

A smoke bomb exploded infront of the actor playing Double Trouble and they ran off stage coughing while a woman with large purple pigtails chewing bubblegum ran into the smoke.

"And then you'll reunite with Big Bro!" sang Entrapta as she leapt into Hordak's arms

"Finally, at last..." sang Hordak, who danced with her.

"And then be back inside the Horde..." sang Entrapta, who gave a twirl with a flourish.

"I'll be whole once mooore..." Hordak sang, dipping Entrapta to the left

"And with no She-Ra to foil our plans..." sang Entrapta, spinning to his other hand.

"We'll complete our genocidal waaar..." sang Hordak, dipping Entrapta to the right.

"Your genocidal- Wait, what?" Entrapta sang, stopping momentarily in her dance.

"I'll get back to all my hobbiiies," Hordak sang as he threw Entrapta up in the air and caught her in his arms, "Like burning planets and baaathing in gooore..."

"Oh, my! Hordak, that just sounds like pure per-fec-tion," Entrapta sang, holding onto Hordak, "As I can observe from your great big..."

The music paused for a second as Entrapta looked down below Hordak's waist.

"Laser?" Hordak guessed, holding up his arm cannon for a moment before they continued dancing together, "Won't... that... beee... deee... viiine... and then she'll be miiine... just mine, all miiine... mine, all mine, all miiine!"

"Excellent!" cheered Seahawke, getting up to clap at the performance, "Good show everyone! I'm sure those moves will really blow everyone's socks off! Now, then... next up I would like to go over what we're going to do with Catra and Glimmer's rap battle in the pulse drone warehouse..."

"I can't see!" Catra shouted as she stumbled back onto stage, "Some of that glitter got in my eyes and I can't get it out. I've tried water, blinking, everything."

"Oh, dear..." Seahawke gasped in concern, "Umm... can I get Double Trouble and Entrapta to bring Catra into the back room to lie down and wash out her eye for her? Don't touch the eye directly or you'll make it worse!"

As the actors took Catra by each arm and guided her off stage, Seahawke sat back down to make a note on his clipboard.

"Replace Glitter Effects with Confetti..." Seahawke read aloud, "I just hope she doesn't get any paper cuts. Now then, while our Catra is recovering, let's go over Shadow Weaver's big number... Can we get Shadow Weaver, Bow and both Glimmers on stage?!"

The stagehands moved the props and backdrop around to look like a pleasant room in Brightmoon. Shadow Weaver picked up a book and sat down on her chair, Bow and two identical looking Glimmers stood off to the side.

"Alright," Seahawke ordered, pointing at one of the Glimmers, "We'll start off with... you there, on the left, for our first run through, and possibly switch it up to see how you both do. Is everyone ready?!"

Seahawke waited for someone to call out before be made his next move. Bow and the two Glimmers walked off stage.

"Alright then," Seahawke said calmly, as he flipped through his version of the script, "Starting off from 'It's about time' on page 279, ready? And action!"

A spotlight shining a deep blue light turned onto Shadow Weaver as Bow and one of the Glimmers came back on stage.

"Princess..." greeted Shadow Weaver, putting down her book, "It's about time."

"You knew we were coming?" Glimmer asked.

"Him, I had no idea about," Shadow Weaver said, pointing at Bow, "But you... You are smart. You want to stop the Horde and you know I'm the only one who can help you. I must admit, I thought it would take you longer to speak with me."

"Catra kidnapped Adora in the Crimson Waste," Glimmer exposited, "We need to get her back, before the Horde uses her and her sword to open a portal."

Shadow Weaver's eyes opened wide in shock.

"His machine is complete?" Shadow Weaver gasped, "And they have Adora? We must hurry. If Hordak has the opportunity to open a portal, he will do so immediately. The Alliance will never get there in time. But perhaps..."

"What?" Glimmer asked, "What is it?"

"Let me out," Shadow Weaver explained, extending her hand, "And I can help you teleport right into the heart of the Fright Zone."

"Me?" Glimmer laughed, "I couldn't even get to the edge of the Fright Zone without running out of power. I'm nowhere near strong enough."

"But I can make you stronger," Shadow Weaver offered, "I'm still the only sorceress who has ever been able to tap into a Runestone. If you allow me to access your connection to the Moonstone, I can enhance your powers through the dangerous, dark evil way. You could teleport us all the way there."

"The Dangerous Dark and Evil way?" Bow asked worryingly.

"You can really make me that powerful?" Glimmer asked, ignoring Bow.

"You think of yourself only as a Princess," Shadow Weaver observed, "But you're the child of a great sorcerer. You have a more powerful connection to magic than you've ever realized. Let me show you how to do the D'Dew."

"You just want to use Glimmer's powers to escape," Bow accused her.

"I want to destroy Hordak!" Shadow Weaver stressed upon him, "We must strike now. Hordak can't be allowed to open a portal. We'll never have another opportunity. You know that."

Glimmer stared silently at Shadow Weaver for a few seconds as she contemplated her options. She then slowly walked up and punched the air in front of her, the spotlight over Shadow Weaver turning off as she did so.

"Show me," Glimmer ordered, extending her own hand.

"Very well, Princess," said Shadow Weaver, "It is time to do the D'Dew."

Shadow Weaver held Glimmer's hand and waved her free hand in an intricate motion as Brother Alfred began to play jaunty music on the piano.

"When you need a *lift*," Shadow Weaver began to sing, "When you're feeling looow, When you wish that things could go your waaay, oh, there's a little *gift* everyone should know. Try it, and it's sure to make your daaay!"

Shadow Weaver waved her hands and dark shadows danced over the stage and backdrop.

"It's called D'Dew, D'Dew, D'Dewww!" sang Shadow Weaver through the intermittent light and darkness, "Do D'Dew D'Dewww! *It's* the kind of voodoo that we *few* who do D'Dew do! Is it evil? Sure, it's true! Still, good things ensuuue... when you do D'Dew, D'Dew, D'Dewww!"

"But how does that work?" Glimmer asked.

"It's simple," Shadow Weaver said, going behind Glimmer's back to pose her, "Keep your shoulders straight!"

"Like this?" Glimmer said.

"Lift your chin up high!" Shadow Weaver instructed, tipping Glimmer's head upwards.

"I'll try," Glimmer promised.

"Think of all the happy thoughts you knooow," Shadow Weaver sang grabbing Glimmer's hand.

"Okay, just don't let gooo!" sang Glimmer.

"Picture those you hate!" Shadow Weaver told Glimmer, waving her hand in front of her.

"Yup," Glimmer answered.

"Shrieking as they die!" Shadow Weaver continued, closing her hand into a fist.

"Got it," Glimmer assured.

"Then just snap your fingers and hellooo!" Shadow Weaver sang, snapping her fingers.

And as Glimmer snapped her fingers, the lights to the entire auditorium went out, covering the stage with pitch black darkness. When they finally came up again, the background had changed again to show the Moon Stone overlooking Brightmoon.

"Wow," Glimmer gasped in amazement.

"And that's a Doo, D'Dew, D'Dewww!" sang Shadow Weaver as she performed allemande around Glimmer.

"Doo D'Dew D'Dewww!" Glimmer sang joining the allemande.

"No one can pooh-pooh you," sang Shadow Weaver, crouching down to boop Glimmer's nose, "With this juju moving through you."

"It's taboo!" shouted Bow.

"Well, whoop-dee-doooo!" Shadow Weaver sang before turning back to Glimmer, "I don't mind, do yooou?"

"Not when you can do D'Dew, D'Dewww!" Glimmer and Shadow Weaver sang together as black smoke erupted around them.

The actors snuck off stage through a trapdoor as the background was slowly changed again to portray the interior of the Fright Zone. Three Horde soldiers in full armor ran in from stage left screaming in fear from two singing sorceresses as they skipped together after them.

"And that's a Doo, D'Dew, D'Dewww!" Shadow Weaver sang as they continued to hold hands.

"Doo, D'Dew, D'Dewww!" Glimmer sang along.

"Doo, D'Dew, D'Dewww!" Shadow Weaver continued.

"Doo, D'Dew, D'Dewww! Glimmer repeated.

"You can say adieu to," Shadow Weaver explained, "Those you owe an I.O.U. to!"

"Any dude who you'd undo," Glimmer and Shadow Weaver sang together as one of the soldiers mimed being devoured by shadows, "Bid him toodle-oo! When you do D'Dew, D'Dew, D'Dewww!"

"Oh, umm..." Seahawke interrupted, "Bow? Can you read Catra's lines for this part?"

"Oh... yeah..." Bow said, "Okay..."

The Bow onstage pulled out a pair of glasses and a tiny script from his pocket as he walked over to the other side of the stage and began to read aloud.

"Lonnie, why did you pull?" Bow said robotically, "Shadow Weaver. Ha. I heard you were with the enemy, but are you actually holding hands with a princess right now."

"Your highness, that's your cue!" shouted Shadow Weaver, pointing at Bow, "You know what to do!"

"Time to use my new D'Dew, D'Dewww," sang Glimmer, reaching her arm out towards Bow as black shadows flittered over his bored, unresponsive body.

"And that's how you doo-doo the doo D'Dewww," Shadow Weaver finished, the two sorceresses giving a bow to Seahawke's rapturous applause.

"Huzzah! Excelsior!" Seahawke cheered, "Oh, I'm sure the princesses are just going to love this. Now let's go over it one more time with the other Glimmer... Places, people!"

~*~

Seahawke's Notes  
We need more songs to fill out the first two acts, and probably need to take some out of act three to even things out, the plot starts to Galavant around there in any case

Act 1  
-Off on a Hero's Journey - Sung by Adora, Bow, Glimmer  
-The Princess of the Sea - Sung by Mermista, Seahawke (MORE PYROTECHNICS!)  
-I Love You (As Much As Someone Like Me Can Love Anyone) - Sung by Adora, Catra  
-A Good Day to Die - Sung by the Entire Cast  
Act 2  
-Togetherness - Adora, Bow, Glimmer  
-Love Makes the Horde Brand New - Sung by Hordak  
-The Dangerous Dark Evil Way - Sung by Shadow Weaver, Glimmer(We need to make the trap door less obvious if we can)  
-Love is Strange - Adora, Catra  
Act 3  
-The Happiest Coronation of Your Life - Shadow Weaver, Castaspella (Played by DT), Glimmer, Bow, Adora  
-My Robot Pal and Me - Scorpia (Kind of wondering why DT didn't think to include Scorpia anywhere in the auditions... or the cast list... or the script for that matter...)  
-Let's Agree to Disagree - Perfuma, Huntara (Played by DT)  
-I Don't Like You - Glimmer, Catra  
-Maybe You're Not The Worst Thing Ever - Hordak, Catra, She-Ra, Glimmer  
-She'll Be Mine - Hordak, Double Trouble, Entrapta (Replace Glitter Effects with Confetti)  
-Goodbye - Hordak, Skeletor (Played by DT), Catra, Shadow Weaver, Scorpia, Double Trouble, Just some random guy, Entrapta


	63. Hordak, Session 8

"I don't know about this," Entrapta groaned through her heavy makeup, "It just doesn't feel like... me..."

"Trust me, honey. You look smashing," Double Trouble reassured her, "One look at this little number and you'll have Hordak back in your hair in no time."

"But these gloves aren't designed for any of the work I normally do that would require protective gear," Entrapta complained, "And these boots are both uncomfortable and completely unsuitable for any strenuous movement."

Entrapta winced as she tried to walk behind the guard ahead of them in her new clothes: a pale blue shirt that was held up by an ostentatious gold collar that flared out as it wrapped around the back of her neck, leaving her cleavage and arms exposed. Matching the shirt was a pair of full length gloves that went up to her forearms and a set of thigh-high, high-heeled boots. The ensemble was completed with a bright pink miniskirt that barely covered her legs at all, held in place by a golden belt.

"And don't get me started on this awful cage they have me wearing," Entrapta complained as she began fiddling with the many golden ties and locks that restrained her hair, "I still don't understand how the Horde can consider my hair to be a security risk! It's just hair!"

A Horde clone guard led them to a busy room in the fright zone where multiple tables and chairs were set up, at each table sat a creature of various species in an orange prisoners uniform with a number of normal looking civilians sitting across from them. Entrapta calmly walked over to the empty table in the corner and sat down, breathing a sigh of relief as she stretched out her legs.

"Yeah... I know..." Double Trouble snarked sarcastically, as they sat next to her, "It's not like you can just use them grab people from across the room and try to strangle them to death..."

"And I'm really sorry about that, okay?" Entrapta cried out, before she started figiting with her hands on top of the table, "I... wasn't in a very good place when you came to visit..."

"I know and I understand..." Double Trouble reassured her, placing a caring hand on top of her own, "I've been exactly where you've been. Upset at losing a friend because of my own mistakes... wanting to lash out at anyone else who could be responsible... because then, you wouldn't have to blame yourself. I get it, honey. Just promise me you'll never let it happen again."

"I promise..." Entrapta said, giving her therapist a big hug, "So... what did you do to lose a friend? Maybe I can help with that after we do this?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Double Trouble replied, hugging her back, "It's ancient history and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it. But there's still time to fix things between you and Hordak if we-OH NO! IS THAT SCORPIA?!"

"Ack!" cried Entrapta as Double Trouble forcefully pushed her head under the table and they quickly transformed into a generic looking human with multiple piercings.

Double Trouble twiddled their thumbs and whistled as a prisoner who looked absolutely nothing like Scorpia walked by. They then transformed back into their usual appearance and pulled Entrapta back up before dusting off her nice new clothes.

"Sorry about that..." Double Trouble apologized, "False alarm. It's been a while since I've been back in the Fright Zone, so I'm a little on edge."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Entrapta laughed, "I'm just happy to be here. I didn't even know we could visit Hordak in prison. I thought the whole point of a prison was to keep him away from everyone else."

"Scorpia's been busy reforming the Fright Zone's penal system," Double Trouble explained, "It's mostly focused on rehabilitating their prisoners now, so they can become productive members of society when they leave. Best way to do that is to keep them in touch with friends and family who aren't criminals, so they can continue to have a healthy support system on the outside."

"So, you and Scorpia had a bit of a falling out, huh?" Entrapta theorized, "I think I heard Hordak mention something about that after the party..."

"I told you not to worry about it..." Double Trouble sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it, now..."

Double Trouble quietly scanned the room around them, quickly glancing at each guard, prisoner and visitor in the room. They recognized Bill and Gary from their support group, who were talking to a Elberannian prisoner with red eyebrows so long they could be seen from behind sticking out at least 6 inches past his ears. They continued their scan of the room before locking eyes with the nearest Horde clone in a guard uniform who was staring intently at them and Entrapta. At first, they thought he might have been Hordak, but this clone was much younger than all the others they had seen before. Double Trouble's expression hardened as he continued to stare at them.

"Yo, buddy!" Double Trouble called out to him, "We got a problem here?"

"No problem, citizen..." the guard replied, "Continue with your business."

"Then can you tell me why you've been staring at my friend here ever since we came in?!" Double Trouble shouted loudly.

"It's okay..." Entrapta whispered nervously, "You don't have to-"

"Nuh-uh," Double Trouble interrupted waving their finger at Entrapta, "I'll handle this. So what is it, pal?! You got something you wanna say to us, spit it out. I'm not in the mood for endless drama."

Double Trouble was silent for a second before they turned back over to Entrapta.

"I can't believe I just said that..." they whispered.

"No, no, it's alright..." the guard waved nervously as he cautiously approached the table, his voice lowering to a quiet whisper, "It's just... You're her, aren't you? I mean... Princess Entrapta of Dryl?"

"Yeah, that's me!" Entrapta greeted, her hair struggling to wave in its restraints, "And who might you be?"

"I'm just a security officer," the clone whispered, "Eta Tau. I don't even have my full designation number assigned yet. But you're here to see Alpha Kappa One Three One Four Five, are you not?"

"No, we're here to see Hordak," Entrapta corrected, before she was pushed away by Double Trouble.

"And what if we are?" Double Trouble inquired, raising a skeptical eyebrow at him, "You got a problem with a princess seeing a Horde soldier?"

"Oh, no, no, no!" the clone stammered frantically, "Just the opposite in fact. I'm really happy you're here. He's always talking about you."

"You know Hordak?!" Entrapta squealed in delight as she pushed past Double Trouble to grab the guard by his jacket, "TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

"NO TOUCHING!" another guard shouted from across the room.

"No touching!" Entrapta repeated as she immediately let go of the guard and held her hands in the air in surrender before sitting back down, "I'm sorry about that... but please... TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT HORDAK!"

Entrapta slammed the table with her fist in excitement causing the clone to jump.

"Well, um... We... that is to say... he... um..." the clone stuttered again, "He... He loves you... Really loves you... We all do..."

"Oh, isn't that sweet?!" Entrapta cooed to Double Trouble, "He still loves me!"

"Wait a second..." Double Trouble interjected, "What do you mean by, 'You all do'?"

The clone's eyes widened in pure terror as his cheeks flushed bright red and a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Nothing!" the clone shouted, his voice cracking in panic, "I must have misspoken! Oh, is that the correct time?! I have to go back on patrol! I'm very sorry to have disturbed you, your highness! It was really nice to meet you in person! You, uh... smell better than he remembers..."

The clone then turned away and quickly marched out of the room in embarrassment. Before he could get through the door, he bumped into another clone with red eyes wearing an orange prisoner's jumpsuit as he was escorted into the visitor's center. His wrists and legs were in chains as he was brought to the table Double Trouble and Entrapta were sitting at. Double Trouble had already begun writing on their notepad when he sat down across from them.

"Your highness..." Hordak greeted Entrapta warmly, before his expression turned cold as he looked to the person she brought with her, "Therapist... I've noticed you've changed your clothes, Entrapta."

"Thanks!" Entrapta said gleefully as she began fiddling with her restraints again, "I hate it!"

Hordak's expression was forced into a polite smile as he looked over Entrapta's new get up.

"I do, too, to be perfectly honest," Hordak critiqued, "I find it to be most... aesthetically offensive."

"Whatever..." Double Trouble grumbled under their breath with their arms folded, "You plebeians wouldn't know quality fashion if it bit you in the cape..."

"So..." Hordak said, ignoring Double Trouble's insults, "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"We're here to check up on you, silly!" Entrapta answered, "I wanted to know how you were doing. Are you okay? Are they taking care of you properly? Do they know all the medication you're supposed to be taking? I brought a list and some supplies that should last you a few weeks!"

Entrapta reached under the table and plopped on top of it a large box full of pills in differently shaped containers all with hastily scribbled labels written on them.

"I am doing fine. Thank you for your concern," Hordak replied, flexing his claw in front of them, "My brothers have taken the liberty of modifying your exoskeleton, greatly reducing my physical strength so I am less of a security risk, but still enabling my full mobility."

"Oh, that's awful!" Entrapta cried out, her hands slapping the sides of her cheeks, "What else are they doing to you in this horrible place?!"

"I had expected my experience to be that of a living hell when I first agreed to subject myself to this," Hordak sighed, "But to tell you the truth, I have found the accommodations to be much more..."

Entrapta and Double Trouble stared at Hordak in rapt attention as he struggled to think of the correct word to use.

"Agreeable..." Hordak finally said, "Then I could have hoped for."

"Agreeable?" Entrapta shouted, getting up to pull Hordak by the collar, "AGREEABLE! How can you say that?! This is a prison! Don't you want to be free to do what you want?!"

"NO TOUCHING!" the same guard shouted.

"No touching!" Entrapta repeated, letting go of Hordak and sitting back down, "You see that?! We can't even touch each other anymore!"

"It is no more restricting than a normal tour of duty on a starship in the Horde," Hordak explained, "The schedule is just as heavily regulated with proper food and drink provided during regular mealtimes. I am permitted to use their library to study. I can apply for various jobs around the prison, if I so desire. There is even an outdoor yard for fresh air and exercise. Normally, I would have been forced to do only the most basic workouts during my free time in my quarters. Although, I must admit my old quarters were much less spartan the cells here. There is barely enough room for me to stand up straight and I don't even have a bunkmate yet..."

Double Trouble ignored him as they continued to write on their notepad.

"You see!" Entrapta shouted, "They keep you in a tiny cage and you're all alone in here! There's no one for you to talk to and interact with! You'll go insane!"

Double Trouble stopped writing and silently gave Entrapta a look of exhaustion.

"The only person I have any interest in interacting with is you," said Hordak, "And we are talking right now. But I have not been completely isolating myself. A large number of my brothers work here, mostly new gestations on security detail before they are reassigned to more critical operations. However, there is a matter of some concern I would greatly appreciate your assistance in."

"What's wrong?" Entrapta called out, "Has someone got it in for you? Are you safe here?"

"The other prisoners appear to have separated into various tribal groupings, mostly divided by kingdom, species and religious affiliation," Hordak explained, "However, because I am the only one of my brothers interned here as a prisoner and because I have no Etherian culture or religious background-"

"No one wants you to be in their gang!" Entrapta interrupted.

"Actually, I have been approached by members from wide variety of groups that wanted to recruit me," Hordak said, pulling out some pieces of paper and a pair of reading glasses from his single chest pocket, "I have yet to choose one to join and was wondering if you could help me come to a decision. I must admit myself somewhat ignorant in these matters and my resources for researching said groups are very limited from my current situation."

Hordak put on the pair of glasses and laid out the papers on the table.

"I think I have mostly narrowed it down to two groups," Hordak said, pushing two sheets of hastily scribbled notes towards Entrapta, "There are Crimson Waste Cobra Snakes, apparently headed by some instigator who goes by the name of Tung Lashor. They've made a lot of big promises, but the name has me somewhat concerned."

"Oh, of couuurse!" Entrapta agreed, as Double Trouble continued to silently write on their notepad, "I mean, it's not like you have any qualities anyone would consider similar to a snake. Really, it's somewhat disconcerting that you would be expected associate yourself with a reptile with no working limbs. You're not even cold blooded."

"No... I mean... Tung Lashor... really?" Hordak stumbled in confusion, "Who in their right mind runs an organization with the name Tung Lashor? It sounds like a lewd romantic act. And I'm fairly certain that it's an assumed name, which would mean that he is the type of person who would actively choose to call himself 'Tung Lashor'."

"Okaaay..." Entrapta said nervously as she looked over Hordak's notes on the Cobra Snakes and frowned when she read 'Wants to Kill Catra' at the top of his list of pros, "So what's the other group you were looking at?"

"The other group is called the Fright Zone Fanatics," Hordak continued, "They are a relatively small and new group, but I think they show great potential for expansion, and I can probably attain a high position in their ranks if I join them sooner rather than later. I just don't know if I'm ready to make that kind of commitment as of yet..."

"So, wait a second..." Double Trouble butted in, taking a break from the notes they've been writing, "You're saying no one here has a problem with the fact that you're... well... Hordak?"

"Most of the people here are still convinced that 'Hordak' died after being killed by Catra at the end of the war," Hordak exposited, "The prisoners believe I am just another clone brought here afterwards. Funnily enough, there appear to be rumors being spread that my ghost is currently haunting the Fright Zone to punish its inhabitants. Many of the convicts I have met claim that I am the reason they were brought here in the first place."

"I'm just having trouble wrapping my brain around this!" Entrapta said, a little louder than she intended, "This is supposed to be a place where you are supposed to be punished for social misdeeds, but the way you talk about it almost makes it sound like you're actually happier here! You're supposed to be 'Doing Time', aren't you? Am I not using that phrase correctly?"

"I am 'Doing the Time'..." Hordak smirked, "Of my life..."

"Ohhh..." groaned Double Trouble as they closed their eyes and rubbed the bridge of their nose, having felt physical pain at Hordak's attempt at humor, "Oh honey... no..."

"Hey, how's it hangin', my Hordak!" said a giant insectoid prisoner that was walking past the table, "We still doing baseball tryouts in the yard after lunch?"

"Do not worry, Mantenna," Hordak greeted, holding up his claw for the other prisoner to slap, "I will be there, and together... we shall create an unstoppable force that shall be feared across the entire Etherian Correctional Facility International League! Those fools in Frosta Penitentary shall suffer a most crushing and humiliating defeat at the hands of our skilled players!"

The other prisoner chittered in approval and continued on his way out of the visitor's center.

"So... it sounds like you're doing alright without me..." Entrapta realized, folding her arms as she leaned against the table.

"Entrapta..." Hordak sighed, "I will never be 'alright' without you. But I am perfectly happy to live like this as long as it means your safe."

Entrapta raised her head to look into Hordak's eyes and the two of them reached over the table to hold hands.

"NO TOUCHING!" the guard shouted a third time.

"No touching!" Entrapta and Hordak repeated together as they held up their hands, their eyes wide with shock and embarrassment.

"Oh..." Double Trouble quietly cooed, "You two are just the cutest together..."

"I should probably mention that I am expected to gain even more privileges over the coming weeks as a reward for good behavior," Hordak explained, "Including regular conjugal visits... if you are... interested..."

"Oh, I aaam..." Entrapta said, her eyes aglow with interest, "What does 'conjugal' mean?"

"It basically means you get to spend a couple hours to a full day in a private room together with a bed, TV and whatever you want brought in, as long as it's okay with the guards," Double Trouble explained, "No guards or cameras watching over you, just getting to be all alone, spending quality time together. It's normally meant for people with close familial connections, but the dungeons in the Valley of the Lost would let prostitutes come in to... ahem... 'reward' their model prisoners. It was easy money for when you were between jobs..."

Hordak and Entrapta both stared at Double Trouble in surprise at their in-depth explanation.

"And you both can wipe that judgemental look off your face!" Double Trouble ordered, "It's not like it's some big secret what I used to do for a living!"

"In any case..." Hordak said, moving on, "Does that sound like something you would be interested in, Entrapta?"

"Oh, my, yeeess!" Entrapta squealed in glee, "There is so much I want to talk to you about... But, uh... there are some things I don't feel comfortable saying with the Horde still scanning all your memories."

"Are you referring to the fact that the 'sleeping' agent you have been administering to me is in fact an amnestic solution designed to allow me to speak freely to you without my brothers' knowledge?" Hordak guessed.

"How long did you know about that?!" Entrapta shouted, before remembering other people were still in the room and lowering her voice to a hushed whisper, "And also aren't you worried about Horde Prime finding out?"

"Do not worry, Entrapta," Hordak said calmly, "Since my incarceration, my brothers have seen no need to continue scanning my mind. I am now in no position to betray the Horde and my current movements are closely monitored by them anyway. As to how I figured it out, it was a simple matter of deduction when I was finally permitted to think on my own. It explained our improved working relationship after our first night in Salineas, and your emotional reactions after I stopped taking your drugs. I have also been noting the times the other prisoners have mentioned they saw this so-called 'ghost' of me, and they correlate nicely with the times when I was supposed to be 'asleep'."

Hordak stopped talking and looked up at two of his brothers as they escorted the Elberannian with long eyebrows back to his cell. Hordak thought the pointed nose, buck teeth and long goatee that curled like a proboscis looked familiar, but promptly brushed it off as lingering memories from his time as the Fright Zone's 'Dark Knight'.

"It's ironic, isn't it?" Hordak noted, "This place is meant to be my prison, and yet it is only here that I am allowed to truly feel... free. Here I am among my own kind, here I am respected... wanted, even... After all these many years of exile, I am... at long last... home..."

"Oh, wow..." a familiar voice sniffled as a giant red claw wiped away a tear, "That is just... so touching... to hear that from you. It's just... I really put a lot of work into making this a nice place for everyone, yaknow? So for you to say how much you really appreciate it... it just hits me... right there..."

The three people stared in stunned silence as a giant woman with large scorpion claws and a tail sat herself down next to Entrapta.

"Oops, pardon me, just gonna squeeze in here..." Scorpia greeted, "Hey, Entrapta, sorry to butt in on your little visiting sesh. I just wanted to have a chance to talk to Hordak off the books so the other Princesses don't find out. You don't mind keeping this our little secret, do ya?"

"Umm..." Entrapta stuttered, "Actually... Scorpia, we were just-"

"Great!" Scorpia interrupted, patting Entrapta on the shoulder, "It's good to know you're such a great friend to rely on. Speaking of which, who is this person beside you?"

"Oh, you know them!" Entrapta replied, "This is Doub-"

"Debra!" the androgynous looking human with a short lime blonde mullet and piercing green eyes sitting beside Entrapta interrupted, "I'm Debra! Debra... um... Tempest..."

"Debra Tempest, huh?" Scorpia repeated softly as the closely examined them with suspicion, "Now I'm positive I never heard that name before, but there is something veeery familiar about you..."

The human began to sweat profusely under Scorpia's intense gaze.

"Must be just my brain going out of wack!" Scorpia explained as her expression brightened up again, "Sorry, about that. I have had a *lot* on my plate this week. Just now, I had to sit through this whole thing about getting a replacement for Mermista's bodyguard after she freaked out at him after he walked into her room while changing and he got reassigned to this big super secret operation I'm not supposed to tell anyone about. Oh... um... forget you heard that."

Scorpia winced as she realized what she just admitted.

"But, uhh... anyways..." Scorpia stuttered, "Nice to meet ya, Debbie! Any friend of Entrapta's is a friend a mine! Put 'er there!"

Scorpia held out her claw for the human to shake. 'Debra's' hand trembled as they dropped their pen and slowly reached up to her claw.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Scorpia gasped upon noticing Debra's discomfort, "I didn't mean to scare you! I sometimes forget how it must look for other people when they see a big ol' gal like myself with terrifying claws that can crush through steel. You don't have to shake them if you don't want to."

"No!" Debra shouted before lowering there voice, "I mean, no. I'm the one who should sorry... It's just... I didn't expect to see *the* Princess Scorpia today. I..."

The human stopped for a second to catch their breath and calm down.

"I think your claws are really beautiful, your Highness," they finally said.

"Aw..." Scorpia cried out, "Well, aren't you a little sweetie?! I'm really happy to see Entrapta making friends with new people. Not many people get to see what an awesome person she is."

"Yes, thank you, Princess," Hordak growled, "We have firmly established how much we all love Entrapta. Now if you could please state the business for which you have decided to interrupt this reunion between me and my lab partner."

"Right, sorry!" Scorpia said as she turned to face Hordak, "I tend to get a easily distracted nowadays, what with all the weird stuff that's been going on. I just want to know why you confessed to trying to murder me and all my friends!"

"I believe we have already had this discussion when I was first brought inside, did we not?" Hordak sneered.

"Yeah, about that!" Scorpia said with her usual chipper tone, "I think you're full of it. You're obviously trying to cover for someone and I want to know who."

"And who, praytell, could I possibly care enough about to 'cover for'?" Hordak growled, "Do you know of anyone else who would have tried poisoning the princesses? Entrapta? The She-Ra? You, perhaps?"

"I think you're covering for your brothers..." Scorpia admitted, "You said it yourself: you wanted to show us that *you* were the only ones with the strength and will to protect us. This whole thing was just a farce to give the Horde an excuse to put their foot down on us. The bodyguards, the lockdown, the war with the resistance. Sure, everyone started to relax after you 'confessed', but things aren't exactly back to normal now, are they? You just wanted to scare us all into Horde Prime's waiting arms so we'd be willing to go along with him taking more power for himself."

"An interesting theory, your Highness," Hordak stated, "But do you have any evidence to back up such a story?"

"Nothing concrete yet," said Scorpia, "But I'm not going to give up until I find out the truth of what happened. I'm gonna work backwards all the way back to Frosta's castle if I have to until I figure out what's really going on."

"And until then, I suggest you be more careful who you throw baseless accusations against," Hordak hissed, "Do not go chasing rivers just to see what's at the end, lest you be caught in a waterfall."

"Look, I know everybody here thinks I'm an idiot," Scorpia sighed, "But I'm also brave and persistent and, most of all, observant. I know when someone's lying to me and I'm not going to be pushed around anymore. I'm not going to stop until I prove your innocence, whether you like it or not."

"I don't think you're an idiot, Scorpia..." Debra whispered meekly.

"You see?! Debbie agrees with me!" Scorpia shouted with pride, "You know, I'm really glad Entrapta found you. We should totally hang out sometime! You seem like a really nice person."

Scorpia got up and patted Debra on the back before she left. Hordak, Entrapta and 'Debbie' stared at each other in silence for a few moments until Debbie transformed back into Double Trouble.

"Oh, my, that was so scary!" Double Trouble gasped, "I'm going to need a drink after this..."

"We really need to tell Scorpia the truth," Entrapta suggested, "All this deception is unraveling far too quickly."

"No, *you* need to tell Scorpia the truth," Double Trouble corrected, "If she finds out what you did from anyone else, she's going to hate you forever for keeping it a secret from her. Trust me on this..."

"You're right!" Entrapta shouted, quickly getting up from her chair, "I'll go get her!"

"Not now!" Double Trouble hissed, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back in her seat, "You have to do it in private so she can keep it a secret from everyone else."

"Oh..." Entrapta realized, "Right..."

"Are we certain that Scorpia can be trusted to keep that secret for us?" asked Hordak, "I understand she means well, but I would be remiss to mention her lack of discretion when it came to matters of confidentiality."

"Well, she somehow managed to keep Entrapta's banishment to Beast Island a secret from you," Double Trouble snarked, "Did you even know she was there when Catra stabbed her in the back?"

Hordak's eyes narrowed in irritation at Double Trouble.

"I'm sure Scorpia had a very good reason for not telling you," Entrapta replied, "I'm happy your doing okay in here, Hordak, and I promise to keep coming to see you everyday. Let me know if there's anything else you need and hopefully we can do that conjiggy thing together, okay?"

"I look forward to it, Princess," Hordak smirked, "But before you go, there is one more thing I feel I must inform you. Even though my brothers have ceased my regular mind scans, I have reason to suspect they have begun to secretly spread the memories they have already taken amongst one another. Something Prime would certainly not approve of."

"So why would they do it?" Double Trouble asked.

"I'm not entirely sure at this point," replied Hordak, "If I had to guess, it would be because they are curious about my time spent on this world. As far as I can tell, my exile is, by far, the longest ever witnessed by any surviving Horde clone. Normally a clone would spend at most a month before being recovered and reunited with one's brothers after a successful mission, but my situation made recovery impossible for me over the course of many decades. No doubt my experience makes me somewhat unique to my brothers."

"And I'm sure the fact that you have managed to become romantically involved with an Etherian Princess had nothing to do with it," Double Trouble smirked, remembering their conversation with a younger guard from earlier.

"I am doubtful that their interest in Entrapta is anything more than a curiosity," Hordak growled threateningly, "My brothers are professional soldiers and, seeing we reproduce via cloning, any biological drive for sexual encounters would be vestigial at best. We have evolved far beyond the need for such base pleasures."

"'Evolved' huh?" Double Trouble repeated sarcastically, "Whatever you say honey..."

"I mean, it looked like you were enjoying yourself all times we..." Entrapta observed coyly, flashing her eyebrows a couple times, "You know..."

"I certainly did not find it... unenjoyable..." Hordak admitted, his cheeks slightly flushing red as he looked at her, "But I would not have actively sought out our... nightly encounters, had you not first suggested them. My attraction to you is far more than just your... intoxicating scent... or your beautiful amethyst eyes... or your long luxurious hair... your lithe and nubile body..."

"Okaaay!" Double Trouble interrupted, slamming the table as they got up from their seat, "You both seem to be doing fine, so I don't see any reason for me to stick around. I'm just going to get in touch with all my other clients and see how many appointments I'm still gonna be able to keep today. You guys can just keep talking and... catch up..."

Double Trouble picked up their things and walked towards the exit.

"Okay, bye! Thanks for getting me out of bed this morning!" Entrapta called out before she leaned her chin against both her fists as she rested her elbows on the table to look at Hordak with a satisfied smile on her face, "So... uh... could you say that thing again about my eyes? I don't think I quite heard you right over all the noise in here..."

Hordak's lip curled into tiny smirk as he leaned his own elbow on the table and cradled his cheek in his claw to stare back at her.

~*~

DT's Notes  
Hordak, Session 8

-Brought Entrapta over to the Fright Zone Prison to visit Hordak and help them maintain a long distance relationship from incarceration.  
-I must admit I am really nervous about the possibility of running into Scorpia while I'm here, we still haven't talked since our big break up at the party and I'm pretty sure I'm the last person she wants to see right now.  
-Guard has been giving me and Entrapta the stink eye and is acting very suspiciously around us...  
-Of course, Hordak likes it here... It's a prison made my Scorpia! She probably has people from all over Etheria confessing their crimes to her in the hopes of getting locked up in here.  
-So... yeah, it sounds Hordak is actually making friends in prison. I'm shocked at how much progress he's made in such a short time.  
-And it looks like he is also allowed to be himself here without constantly worrying about what Horde Prime would think of his actions, that has to be a major load off his mind.  
-CRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAP  
-Alright, calming down... Scorpia was here, and I've managed to convince her I was someone else. Am currently internally debating how feasible it would be to ditch Double Trouble for good and become Debra Tempest for the rest of my life.  
-No, I'd probably screw that up eventually, too.  
-So now we've figured out why that guard knew Entrapta so well, and why he was so weird around her...  
-Hordak claims his species has evolved 'beyond' the need for biological reproduction. Based on his behavior towards Entrapta and from what I've seen of his brothers, I am certain this is simply a case of extreme denial onset from being raised in a toxic culture of severe sexual repression. Most likely this is just another means for Horde Prime to assert control over his clones.  
-So if I'm reading this situation correctly, Hordak and Entrapta have inadvertently become amateur porn stars working pro bono for the Horde... I should really convince them to litigate this, but experience has shown me that the Horde has a very low opinion on intellectual property rights and informed consent in regards to its clones and subjects...


	64. Adora, Session 3

"I don't really like myself without... you," sang an actress on the stage of the Salineas Opera House wearing a Horde uniform, false cat ears, a medical eyepatch and a red mask that hooked around her face, "Every song I sing is still about... you. Save me from myself the way you used... to. 'Cause I don't really like myself without... you. I really wish I hated you..."

The doors to the auditorium creaked open and Adora carefully snuck inside. She tiptoed behind the audience seating and tried to secretly make her way backstage.

"You're too late," a voice called out from behind her, "Auditions were finished a while ago."

Adora froze in shock and carefully looked behind her to see a chubby catgirl with her hair done up in a ponytail and a hair poof. She wore a longsleeved white shirt, grey pants and a red Horde jacket. It was like looking at her reflection... if her reflection was covered in cat hair.

"I'm not... uh... I'm just..." Adora stuttered, "I have an appointment to meet someone here..."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." the catgirl Adora gasped, "You're her, aren't you? You're She-Ra... The real one, I mean."

"Uh, yeah..." Adora confirmed nervously, "At least... I was..."

"My name's Jenny-Anne!" the catgirl squeaked, "I'm such a big admirer of all your work! The Massacre at Thaymore where you fought off an entire Horde army by yourself! The Siege of Brightmoon where you brought all the Runestone Princesses together for the first time! The Fourth Liberation of Elberon where you freed all those prisoners! Is it okay for me to talk to you right now? I have a million questions."

"Well, I don't think I have enough time for 'a million' questions," Adora chuckled, folding her arms and closing her eyes as she gave a tiny smirk of confidence, "But I think I can spare a couple minutes for a fan."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Jenny-Anne cheered, "Is it okay if I introduce you to our She-Ra?"

"Your 'She-Ra'?" Adora repeated in confusion.

"Hey! Gracie!" Jenny-Anne called out, waving her hand excitedly, "You'll never guess who showed up to rehearsal today!"

A large musclebound woman from backstage with green skin and two prominent tusks coming out from her underbite finished her drink and got up from her folding chair, stomping over towards them. She was wearing a white sleeveless tunic with gold trimmings and matching boots, as well as a golden tiara over her waist length golden blonde wig. Adora's eyes grew wide with excitement as she saw her exposed bulging and veiny biceps.

"Gracie here does all your stunts and fight choreography," Jenny-Anne introduced, "While I handle all the singing and dancing. Gracie, this is She-Ra!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Adora greeted, quickly wiping the drool from her mouth while holding her other hand out to shake, "Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, wow!" the orc lady squealed, her massive grip eclipsing Adora's as they shook hand, "I have to tell you, it really is such an honor to be playing you in this performance! You have no idea what it means to me to have you here right now!"

"Oh, believe me..." Adora chuckled dreamily, her eyes half lidded as she continued looking over the stunt woman's physique, "I don't think there's anywhere else I'd rather be..."

"I mean... You really are an inspiration for big girls everywhere, you know?" Gracie continued with a big dopey grin on her face, "It's just... I've always been really self conscious about my height and not looking feminine enough for people. I don't even excerise all that much to get this buff. So to have someone like you, a princess even, show everyone else it's okay to be big and strong and still be a girl, it really helped me get through some bad times."

"Aww..." Adora cooed, a single tear running down her cheek, "I'm so happy to hear you say that! To tell you the truth, I've been feeling kinda hopeless lately... what with this whole Horde occupation of our entire planet. It's like everything I did as She-Ra didn't really make a difference..."

"Oh, that's not true at all!" Jenny-Anne argued, "Of course you made a difference! Things were so much worse before the She-Ra returned. Before you came, all the other princesses just hid away in their own castles while the Horde took whatever they wanted. Even Brightmoon was more interested in running away than fighting them off after King Micah died. And now..."

Jenny-Anne's ears drooped slightly as she thought of what to say next.

"Well, okay, so maybe things aren't all that different right now..." Jenny-Anne admitted, "But for a while there, things were really looking hopeful. That if we all worked together we could change Etheria for the better. And that maybe, if we can get things right this time, things will finally start to get better for real."

"You really think so, huh?" Adora sighed.

"It's what I have to believe to keep going," Jenny-Anne explained, "It's not like- Oh! Sorry, that was my cue! I gotta go!"

Jenny-Anne quickly scooted on stage, leaving Adora and Gracie alone together.

"So... uh..." Gracie stuttered, carefully rubbing the back of her head, "Is it true about what they say about you? About that thing you do..."

"About what thing?" Adora asked, coyly flashing her eyebrows.

"Y'know..." Gracie said, looking around nervously, "That thing you do... with women you like..."

Gracie bent over to whisper into Adora's ear and Adora closed her eyes and bit her lip as she listened to what the other woman was describing.

"I can see that you've had enough," the actress portraying Catra sang out, "I can see that you're giving up on me... I can see that your hands are up... I can see that you're giving up on me...  
I hate the way that you're better off..."

"Better off..." sang Jenny-Anne.

"I numb the pain but it never stops..." sang Catra.

"Never stops..." sang Jenny-Anne.

"Wish I could say that I'm better off..." sang Catra.

"Better off now..." sang Jenny-Anne.

Adora opened her eyes again and looked on stage at the two women staring lovingly in each other's eyes as they danced together. Her expression dropped into a dissapointed frown and she looked down at the floor in shame.

"I love you... but I hate you... when you're with someone else..." Catra sang, "And I want you... wrapped around me... but I don't trust myself... I keep walking by our bed, but you don't sleep there anymooore... 'Cause I don't really like myself without... you... Every song I sing is still about... you... Save me from myself the way you used... to...'Cause I don't really like myself without... you... I really wish I hated you right now..."

"I'm sorry," Adora finally said, "I don't do that anymore. I'm... with someone now, and I really don't want to hurt them again."

"Oh..." Gracie said with a tiny twinge of dissapointment, "No, it's okay. I totally get it."

"You're a really beautiful woman, Gracie," said Adora, "And I'm sure you're not going to have any trouble finding someone else who sees that. But right now, I'm late for an appointment I made with a friend. Have you seen them? They're supposed to be running this whole show."

"Oh, you mean the Director?" Gracie said, pointing at a chair in the audience, "He's right over there."

Adora looked down to see Seahawke staring in rapt attention at the performance, tears streaming down his eyes and his lip trembling as he watched with his hands clasped over his chest.

"Of course, they are," Adora groaned, "Thanks again, Gracie, it was really nice to meet all of you..."

Gracie gave another small grin and waved as Adora climbed down to the audience and carefully made her way to Seahawke's seat.

"Hey!" Adora hissed at him, "I'm here!"

"Adora!" Seahawke greeted her in surprise, getting up to give her a big hug, "It's so good to see you again. What do you think of our little troupe so far?"

"It's great..." Adora smiled, "It looks like you gathered a bunch of people with some real passion for what this is all about."

"I know, right?" Seahawke said, "We've all worked so hard to make this special for you guys! Now, is there anything I can do for you while you're here?"

"Our appointment, remember?" said Adora, "I'm supposed to do a therapy session with you."

"You are?" Seahawke gasped in confusion, "Well, I suppose I can do that. I'll be with you right after we're done with this scene, okay?"

"Of course," Adora said, both of them sitting down to watch the rest of the performance.

By the time the song finished, Adora had almost forgotten why she first came here. Seahawke stood up from his seat and applauded with his usual overwhelming enthusiasm.

"Bravo, fair maidens!" Seahawke cheered, "I say, Bravo! Now, if you'll excuse me, I just need to talk to my good friend here for a bit! Feel free to use the stage for whatever practice you might want to do, and we'll be back at it after lunch! Good show everyone!"

The two performers bowed and Adora dragged a confused Seahawke into Double Trouble's dressing room.

"You know, I have to say," Adora told him, lying down on their feinting couch, "You do a really good Seahawke! You've really got all his cute bumbling oaf qualities down pat..."

"Oh, you really mean that?" replied Seahawke, taking a seat in Double Trouble's big comfy chair, "I thought I would have been perfect for the role myself, but they said I wouldn't be able to pull it off! Apparently, I had too much of my *ego* invested in the character, but I guess I showed them, eh what?"

"So, uh, where were did you want me to start?" asked Adora, "I think it was right after Glimmer turned on the Heart of Etheria, when we stopped last time..."

"Well, I suppose you should start wherever you felt most comfortable..." Seahawke suggested.

"Aren't you going to be taking notes?" inquired Adora as she noticed Seahawke left his pen and clipboard leaning on the chair beside him.

"Oh, okay!" Seahawke said, as reached down to pick them up, "Go ahead..."

"Alright..." Adora gasped, taking in a deep breath before she began, "So there I was... heading into the crystal castle for what I thought would be the last time to stop Light Hope from destroyed Etheria with it's own magical energy. She told me she was the one who took me from my home... who brought me to Etheria in the first place through a portal while I was still a baby. That all I ever was was just another cog in her machine designed to kill whatever the First One's were fighting. She took control of my body through the sword and made me into a weapon for her to use. It was the most violating thing I've ever experienced..."

Seahawke shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, and gave a small awkward cough as he continued to stare wide eyed at Adora as she told her story.

"I tried to convince her that Etheria was alone in Despondos," Adora continued, "and that whatever war the First One's were fighting was long over. That was when she used my power to open a portal for the entire planet to pass through to the wider universe, and then to fire the Heart of Etheria at the other worlds."

"That sounds horrifying, Adora..." Seahawke gasped in sympathy, "To think you've been holding onto such pain this whole time... How could you ever manage to cope with such a travesty?"

"I don't know how I was able to regain control of my body..." Adora replied, "I think a small part of Light Hope didn't want to go through with it. After I destroyed the sword and stopped her, she touched my shoulder, actually touched it, and said 'Thank you'... and then she dissolved into nothingness. I thought I had killed her until Entrapta told me she had fixed her. That's why I wanted to ask you about this in the first place..."

Adora reached in her pocket and pulled out a small cube made out of First One's crystals and Horde circuitry.

"This is all that is left of Light Hope," Adora explained, "All I have to do is push a button and I can speak to her again. To ask all the questions I never got the answers to. Where I'm from, who I was, if I have a family and where they are now..."

"But you don't think you can trust any answers they would give you even if they did tell you..." Seahawke said, finishing her sentence.

"Shadow Weaver was the closest thing I had to a parent," Adora replied, "After I left the Horde, Queen Angella took me in and cared for me... And after she sacrificed herself to save Etheria, Light Hope was the only thing I had left... the only person I could go to for answers. But after everything that's happened, I don't think I can face her again."

"So don't..." Seahawke suggested.

"What do you mean?" asked Adora.

"Don't push that button, don't bother talking to her," Seahawke clarified, "Throw that cube into the sea if it make you feel better. You don't have to face her again. You don't have to listen to another word she says, if you don't want to."

"Are you kidding me?" Adora gasped, "After all the work Entrapta and Hordak did to bring her back to life? This might be the only chance I have to figure out who I really am."

"Who you really are?!" Seahawke repeated in contempt, getting up to pose dramatically, "Why, you're Adora! You're the one true She-Ra, sword or no sword! You are the hero who left her abusive home to fight for truth and justice and freedom for all Etherians. And your family is right here with you! Glimmer, Bow, Me and all of the other princesses. We're your family! Do you think I don't always wonder where I could have come from? A small baby lost at sea with no link to my past, raised by singing monks? But it doesn't matter because family isn't just the blood that flows through your veins, it is the people who choose to love and care for you. Not the First Ones, not Shadow Weaver and certainly not Light Hope!"

"But things could be different now..." Adora replied, "Light Hope might have changed, she could have gotten better without the First One's corrupting her program."

"It doesn't matter," Seahawke assured her, "If they truly wanted to be a part of your life, they would not have treated so terribly in the first place! You are not a bad person for wanting to cut them off. Don't let yourself enable their bad behavior. It doesn't matter if they actually change and get better or not, that is not your concern. You are not obligated to forgive them or give them any acknowledgement whatsoever. Let them be forgotten and live your own damned life of fun and adventure with the people who truly love you!"

Adora carefully examined the box she held in her hands. It shimmered under the light, the indentations on its crystal structure shining a rainbow of colours. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and put it back in her pocket.

"Thanks a lot, Double Trouble," Adora said, getting up to give Seahawke a big hug, "I'm really happy I came to talk to you about this. I feel so much better now."

"Double Trouble?" Seahawke repeated in confusion, "Double Trouble is in the Fright Zone right now, helping Entrapta deal with an emotional catastrophe. Didn't you get their message?"

"Wait a minute..." Adora realized, "You're actually Seahawke?"

"Why, of course!" Seahawke replied, "Who else would I be?"

Adora sat back down and covered their face with both hands in embarrasment.

"Please tell me you're going to keep all of this a secret," Adora groaned.

"Why, of course!" Seahawke declared, "I would never betray the trust of a friend!"

~*~

Seahawke's Notes

Adora, Session 3

-Notes...  
-Notes...  
-I am totally taking Notes...  
-This is a thing that I am doing now...  
-Notes...  
-More Notes...  
-I suddenly feel the urge to go out and give our pianist a hug and thank him for all the things he did for me...


	65. 8th Interlude, All Clones are Badguys

The doors to Nu Sigma's holding cell hissed open and Lonnie stepped in, carrying a small device in her hands.

"Looks like it's your lucky day, Hordak," Lonnie greeted the prisoner, "You get to go free today."

"I fail to see the humor in your joke, Etherian," Nu Sigma scoffed.

"Oh, it's no joke," Lonnie explained, attaching the device to the lock on Nu Sigma's cell door, "We're packing up and heading out, and we're not gonna bother wasting resources trying to move you, so we're just going to let you go."

"You are... leaving this area?" Nu Sigma translated.

"That's what I said," Lonnie replied, pushing a number of buttons on the keypad of the device, "Now personally, I would have just let you stay in this cell to rot until your friends found you, but the Commander says that wouldn't be 'humane'. So this doohickey here is going to blow the locks on your cell after we're gone. If it's not to much to ask, I would really appreciate it if you stood right here and fiddled with it so it can go off prematurely, blow off your hands and hopefully kill you."

Nu Sigma said nothing and simply stared at Lonnie as she finished priming the detonator.

"Alright, all finished..." said Lonnie, turning to leave, "You're welcome..."

Nu Sigma continued to watch carefully as Lonnie turned around and left out the door she came in.

"Brothers..." Nu Sigma whispered, "If you can hear me, the time to strike the rebels is upon us. They have begun moving and plan on leaving me behind. I repeat, if you intent to attack the rebel base, the time to strike is now..."

~*~

"Let me know if you see anything, Mr. Kyle," Bow ordered at his tracker pad as all around him, soldiers in Horde armors and Brightmoon uniforms teared down their tents and equipment and began moving them onto wheeled carts to move out.

"Got it, sir," Kyle's voice called out from the pad, "Me and Rogelio have the western trail on lockdown! Nothing's gonna get by us."

"Just keep quiet and try not to be seen," Bow called out, "It's just a standard relocation drill, we've done it plenty of times before so we should have this done quick and clean before anyone else notices we were ever here."

A white unicorn with pink wings and an long orange mane landed in the clearing next to Bow.

"King Micah is safely secured at your family's library," Swiftwind reported, "The good news is the tall guy with the dreadlocks is taking very good care of him after the guy with the mustache knocked him out."

"Wait!" Bow cried out in concern, "George knocked out King Micah!"

"Oh yeah..." Swiftwind realized, "Bad news is your dad punched out the King as soon as he came out to answer the door. Have to say your dad has a mean right hook."

"Yeah, that's George alright..." Bow sighed, "I should have warned Micah that Dad didn't part ways with the rebellion on the best of terms."

"So, where do you want me in the fight, boss?" Swiftwind asked Bow, "Aerial reconnaissance? Covering our flanks to counter a cavalry charge? Hiding in the trees to swoop down at them from above?"

"I need you to make sure all our non-combat personnel have safely evacuated," Bow ordered him, "We can't let the Horde get to them if they attack."

"Not a problem," Swiftwind replied, "Our comrades will be safe and protected under my watchful eye. Now, what do you want Madame Razz to do?"

Swiftwind gestured at the hunched over old woman standing next to him with wild grey hair and purple wrinkled skin wearing pink rags and yellow tinted glasses that magnified her eyes to ridiculous proportions.

"Razz?" Bow squeaked in shock, "What are you doing here?! I told you to evacuate with the others!"

"Bah!" the old woman brushed him off, "Razz did not come here to run! Razz came here to fight! This is Razz's home, too, and Razz will help you protect it."

"Look, I understand you want to fight," Bow replied, "But if the Horde attacks while we're moving, it will be very dangerous for you to be here. And I'll never forgive myself if I let anything bad happen to you!"

"Aw, you are sweet boy, George," said Razz as she reached up to pinch Bow's cheek, "But you shouldn't worry about old Madame Razz. Razz has been fighting the Horde since long before you were born! Razz knows how to take care of bullies!"

Bow made a long whining groaning noise as Razz walked past him towards the woods where soldiers had put up sandbag walls to make cover out of.

"It's okay..." Bow told himself as he took a deep breath, "Nothing is going to happen. This is all just a precaution. One we've done a million times to cover our tracks and make sure the Horde doesn't find us. We'll just move over to another area and everything will be fine..."

"Horde drones spotted in the distance!" Kyle called out over the tracker pad, snapping Bow back into his panicked state, "They look like tiny, one-eyed, floating white hubcaps. Looks like they're just scanning the forest. I think they're too far away to notice us!"

Rogelio made a frustrated snarl as he pulled off Kyle's binoculars and turned them around before sticking them back on his face.

"Uh, never mind!" Kyle replied, "They are actually very close to the camp and are, in fact, heading right for us."

"Pull back to our main defenses, Kyle!" Bow ordered his tracker pad, "All units prepare for an attack on the western clearing, prepare the EMP generators to take down the Horde drones."

The soldiers that were loading the cart dropped their camping supplies and hustled over to the sandbags on the western side of the camp. In the distance, a bush rustled and the soldiers aimed their weapons at it. It rustled again and a large lizard creature wearing a horde uniform came running out holding Kyle by the waist under his arm.

"Hold your fire!" Bow ordered, "It's just Rogelio and Kyle!"

The soldiers kept their aim steady as Rogelio leapt over them and took cover behind the sandbags, both him and Kyle being given a gun by the soldiers next to them.

The bush began rustling again, as well as several other plants nearby and all at once a swarm of small white flying drones came rushing towards their encampment.

"Open fire!" Bow ordered, his troops shooting green balls of electrical energy at the drones, "Get ready to activate the EMP on my order!"

The drones massed towards the camp defenses as most of them fell and smashed against the ground under the concentrated fire of glowing green energy blasts. More and more of them came pouring out of the woods until the swarm slowly began to overwhelm the defenders faster than they could shoot them down.

"Now!" Bow called out as the drones finally made it past their sandbags.

A device in one of the tress blinked a blue light for a second and a spherical wave of blue energy pulsed out of it and through the entire camp. Each of the drones shut down and fell from the sky as the wave of energy passed through them. After a few seconds of relative piece, the sound of loud thumping footsteps could be heard in the distance.

"Looks like we have infantry incoming," Bow called out, "Load sticky shockers!"

The soldiers began grabbing small projectiles out of some nearby boxes and loaded them into their guns. They quickly returned to their firing positions and waited for their enemy to reveal themselves. Soon the sound of boots marching stopped and an uncomfortable silence permeated the woods. Then a loud noise of a heavy machine whirring roared throughout the entire forest, causing all the soldiers to cover their ears in pain.

"Brum... brum... brum... brum... brraaAAAAaaaAAAaaaAAACK," the machine snarled as one of the nearby trees wobbled to the sound of splintering wood.

The sound stopped as quickly as it started and the tree continued to wobble and splinter until it finally fell over, revealing a humanoid form behind it in pure white armor, lines of pale green light pouring out of every seam. On it's chest was the insignia of the one true Horde, two black batlike wings coming out of a black teardrop. On its right arm was a large cannon with a triangular barrel, mounted just above its wrist. Its left held a long mechanical sword with a chain of metal teeth running along its blade. Bow couldn't tell if there was even a person inside it or if it was just another robot drone, but it had all the right proportions and features of a Horde clone. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it at the white knight with his bow. The arrow struck it right in the chest and sparked with a blast of electricity, but the Horde trooper was unfazed by the attack. It pulled the arrow off its chest plate and threw it on the ground, walking steadily towards the encampment.

"Fire all sticky shockers," Bow ordered, "Take it down!"

The rebels did as ordered and fired their weapons at the trooper, which continued to shrug off their attacks as it slowly continued its steady march towards them. It raised its cannon arm at the rebels and a green glow began to shimmer from inside the barrel. The rebels quickly abandoned the sandbag fort it was aiming at before it was a powerful steady beam of green energy was shot from the cannon. When the beam hit, the little fort exploded into a dusty flash of sand and hemp. The trooper then moved his arm and the laser beam carved a path through the rebels' remaining sandbag walls.

"Someone take out that gun!" Bow ordered, dropping to the ground as the beam buzzed over his head.

Lonnie ran over to an ammo box left out in the open and picked up a bladed throwing star. She threw it at the trooper and it arced directly into the troopers arm cannon embedding itself into its armor plating. The beam shut off and the cannon began to fizzle and spark. The Horde trooper examined his arm for less than a second before quickly dropping its sword and tearing the cannon off its arm. It threw it up in the air where it exploded in a blast of green energy above the battlefield. Bow thought it unlikely that a robot would react so quickly in self preservation.

"It's a clone, alright!" Bow observed, "Get ready for more of them."

As if to answer Bow's warning, more white armored troopers began marching out of the clearing created by the first trooper, each armed with a similar arm cannon that they fired at the defensive fortifications. The rebels continued launching their weapons at the invading army and the battle became a firefight. The original trooper picked up its sword again and raised it to the sky.

"To me, Brothers!" the Horde soldier called out, his harsh voice amplified by a mechanical speaker in his helmet, "Charge!"

"For the Emperor!" the other white soldiers called back, "For the Horde!"

The Horde leader pushed a button on the swords handle and its mechanism roared back to life, the metal chain pulling its sharp teeth along the sword's blade with the same deafening noise from before. The leader ran into a sprint towards the entrenched rebels, holding the sword behind him, ready to strike. Bow fired another arrow at the ground in front of him and a large quantity of green slime sprayed out of it, coating the battlefield in front of him. The charging Horde soldier's boot stuck to the gooey adhesive and he fell forward on the ground, struggling in vain to free himself. One of the soldiers following him fired at the ground, dissipating a path through the goo before another rebel launched a shuriken at him, disabling his weapon. The Horde soldiers continued charging forward even without their guns and Bow fired another arrow at them, this one turning into a large rope net that wrapped itself around the new lead trooper, tripping him onto the ground. The remaining Horde soldiers continued their advance and the battle soon became an intense melee, punctuated by more green explosions on the ground and in the air as more troopers armed with green laser cannons joined the battle. Bow fired off another arrow and its head inflated into a boxing glove in mid air. It struck a Horde soldier in the face and knocked him onto his back.

Between the explosions of dirt and adrenaline pumping through his veins, Bow's vision of the battlefield became clouded as he focused his attention on the closest enemy, then the next, steadily walking backward as he fired arrow after arrow at the approaching Horde troopers. They continued coming as his arrows took each of them down, the Horde slowly coming closer to him, until finally Bow had to duck and roll under one of their claw strikes. He pulled out another arrow and stabbed it into one of the green seams of the troopers armor, electricity ejecting outward throughout the entire suit.

"Aaaaah!" the clone screamed in pain before he finally fell to the ground unconscious.

Bow used the clone's body for cover as he pulled out one last arrow and shot it at the ground, this one opened its sides to reveal a set of tiny electric speakers that began to emit a high pitched wail that shrieked a constant tone over the battlefield. The armored Horde clones covered the sides of their heads as they all stumbled to the ground in pain.

"Fall back to the woods!" Bow shouted, unsure if anyone else could hear him over the sonic arrow.

Bow didn't have time to catch is breath as he heard the chainsaw sword roar behind him and he ducked again as the sword flew right where his neck was not a moment ago. He looked up to see his enemy, a Horde soldier covered in sticky green goo. Bow reached for another arrow, only to find his quiver empty. He jumped over the sword as the Horde leader took a swipe at his legs and turned to run towards the camp ground.

~*~

Kyle and Rogelio looked over the battlefield to see a single Horde clone on his own holding a rebel soldier by the neck and choking her with one hand. This one didn't bother wearing a helmet, exposing his shoulderlength mullet of curly black hair, green eyes and grey batlike face to the world.

"Hordak!" Kyle called out, his eyes narrowing dramatically at the clone in front of him, "At last, we meet!"

Rogelio made a threatening snarl and pounded his fists threateningly as the clone turned to face them.

"No, my young apprentice..." Kyle said, putting a hand on Rogelio's arm, "This one... is mine..."

Kyle pulled out a metal tube from his belt and flicked a switch on it's side, causing a beam of orange energy to form into a humming blade of light.

"Do I know you?" Beta Sigma scoffed as he casually tossed his unconscious foe to the ground.

Kyle spun around awkwardly, nearly falling over as he waved the laser sword around like a child playing with a toy before he ran into a screaming charge at the Horde clone facing him.

"Yeeaarrgh!" Kyle shouted as he swung his sword through Beta Sigma's torso, its orange energy sparkling harmlessly off his armor.

Confused, Kyle made another swing and then a stab, before he began casually drawing spirals with his sword against the Horde clone's impenetrable armor. He held the sword up and examined it closely.

"Huh..." said Kyle, dropping the sword as he slowly backed away from the alien creature that towered over him, "So... uh... That didn't work..."

The clone slowly bent over towards Kyle to stare menacingly into his eyes.

"Boo..." Beta Sigma growled.

"Yaaah!" Kyle screamed in terror as he fell over backwards and began stumbling away from the Horde clone, Rogelio looking confused for a second before following after his fleeing boyfriend into the woods.

~*~

Bow made his way into one of the rebellion's prefabricated shacks made out of wood and scrap metal and closed the wooden door behind him. He quickly checked the exits to make sure he was alone before he began looking frantically in all the drawers and cupboards he could find.

"Come on, Bow," he told himself, "You put spare arrows in every hiding places all over the camp for just such an occasion. So where could they all have gotten to..."

"COME, ETHERIAN!" a Horde clone's loudspeaker could be heard shouting over all the commotion outside, "SHOW ME WHAT PASSES FOR FURY AMONGST YOUR MISBEGOTTEN KIND!"

Bow winced at the fact that he was hiding in here looking for arrows while his friends were fighting just outside. He kept opening each and every drawer in the room until he heard something crack and fall behind him. He quickly wheeled around in panic, but didn't see anything. He looked down to see one of his trick arrows on the ground, snapped in half. He picked up the arrow head and examined the break, a single clean slice. Something else snapped behind him and Bow reflexively grabbed his bow and tried to draw it with the broken arrow, but saw the string had been cut in the middle. Bow gasped in surprise at the damage when suddenly the ceiling made a small creak above him.

Bow slowly looked up to see what made the noise: a white suit of armor just like the Horde soldiers outside, clinging to the ceiling above him from a set of claws on its hands and feet. The creature slashed at Bow as it dropped to the ground, Bow barely dodging out of the way in time. This Horde soldier was much smaller and thinner than the other clones, smaller than Bow even, but moved so fast he could barely keep track of its attacks as it tore at him. Bow picked up a frying pan that was on the counter and swung it into the Horde soldiers helmet, causing both the pan and the helmet to reverberate. Bow dropped the pan in shock and the Horde soldier clutched its head as its helmet continued to vibrate. Bow ran away. but the Horde soldier charged at him, tackling Bow into a nearby wall.

Before Bow could recover, the soldier grabbed him by neck and pushed him up the wall, pinning his right arm with its other claw. Bow punched the soldier in the head with his left hand and screamed in pain as he broke his own wrist against its helmet. The soldier then threw Bow over its shoulder onto the ground, pinning both arms to the floor with its claws and pressing its knee into Bow's exposed stomach. Bow struggled helplessly against his captor as the green glow of its visor closely examining his face before the entire helmet mechanically receded into the rest of the suit, revealing its occupant. Even though her dark, normally messy hair was now cut short to fit inside the small helmet, there was no mistaking her soft red fur and monochromatic eyes, one blue, the other gold.

"Hey, Bow..." Catra purred, hovering inches away from his face, "I've been meaning to pay you back for interrupting my quality time with Adora that night you broke into our home."

"Catra..." Bow grunted, "If you're going to kill me, just do me a favor and get it over with. Because I'm done playing with you."

"Oh, don't worry... I'm not allowed to kill you unless you prove too difficult to contain... " explained Catra with a sultry tone, moving past Bow's head so she could whisper in his ear, "In case you didn't get the memo, the Horde are the good guys now and *you* are the rebel terrorists who tried to kill the princesses. So be a good little boy for me... and I can make it so no one else has to get hurt."

"You know we had nothing to do with that, Catra..." Bow explained, "And even if someone here did, I would never condone it."

"It doesn't really matter what you say at this point," Catra explained, "It's your word against ours and we're here to keep the peace now. By this time tomorrow, all anyone in Etheria is going to hear is the story of how I took down Etheria's rebel leader without a single loss of life. I must admit, your whole 'no-killing' malarky is what made this so easy for me."

"Adora will never forgive you for this..." Bow told her, kicking her between the legs and clanking against the hard metal of her armor, "Ow!"

"Adora... will get over it!" Catra shouted, headbutting Bow in the face in retaliation, "I'm done conquering some points on a map for some whiny old man in a suit of armor. I'm going after what I want now and what I want is Adora, safe, happy, and, most importantly, mine. So if all she cares about are her precious little friends, then I'm going to be the one who makes sure nothing bad happens to them. But that's not going to be easy if you keep fighting me the whole way. Face it, Bow, Horde Prime's already won... It'll make things so much easier if you just lie back and accept it... Trust me on this..."

"I'll never stop fighting the Horde," Bow declared, "The Horde stands against everything good in Etheria. Freedom, peace, equality..."

"Oh, please..." Catra groaned, letting her tail fall between Bows legs, "Freedom is overrated, you wouldn't even know what to do with it if you ever had it. Peace is whatever people say it is and Equality was never a possibility in a world were literal magic princesses run everything. Don't worry, Bow... things under the Horde can be pretty sweet if you know how to play nice with them. Even your precious Queen Sparkles figured that one out!"

"Don't you dare talk about Glimmer!" Bow ordered, groaning in effort and anger, "Just because you haven't put her in a cage yet doesn't mean she isn't just a much a hostage and a prisoner to you!"

"Haha!" Catra laughed as she held him in place, "Looks like I touched a nerve there. I always thought there was something sparkling between the two of you. It must be so hard for her to be all alone in that big castle... No Mom... No Dad... No handsome young boytoy to keep her warm at night... Imagine how how happy she's gonna be when I bring you home to her..."

"You are not going to hurt my Glimmer!" an elderly voice called out, "You are not going to hurt my Glimmer or my George or my Mara ever again!"

Catra felt something with great strength grab her by the tail and toss her against the wall, her heavy armor denting it. Bow slowly got up to see Madame Razz hitting Catra's white armor with a broomstick.

"Ack!" Catra gasped, hissing in frustration as she arched her back on all fours, "Listen, old timer! I was just having a private conversation with an old acquaintance of mine, so if you could-"

"Bad kitty!" Razz scolded as she threw a glass of water into Catra's face, "You leave my George alone now!"

"Uggh! Really?" Catra winced as she got up off the ground, the water soaking all over her fur, "Look, I'm warning you, lady! I don't wanna have to break your hip, but I-Oof!"

Razz hooked her broom between Catra's legs and tripped her back on the ground. She then jumped on top of her and continued to hit her with the broom, this time across her exposed head.

"You don't break Razz!" Madame Razz declared, "Madame Razz break you! Razzle-Dazzle!"

"Gah!" Catra screeched, trying to reach for the broom with her claws but missing each time, "Are you kidding me right now? Get off of me!"

Catra made a swipe at Razz herself, who jumped over her attack and landed back on Catra, quickly resuming her pummeling with the broom. Bow, meanwhile, slowly got up to look outside the window. In the time they'd been fighting, the battle was mostly over. It looked like almost all the rebels had either retreated into the woods or lay on the ground unconscious, or so he had hoped. Those that fought on were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Horde and were rounded up and placed in handcuffs.

"It looks like most of them got away, at least," Bow observed.

He returned his attention to Razz and Catra. Razz raised her broom above her head and gave a trilling war cry before continuing to beat the cat on the floor with it. Bow calmly put a firm hand on her shoulder and she stopped attacking to look Bow in the eye. Catra simply moaned and clutched her head in relief from the pounding she had received.

"Leave her!" Bow ordered, "She's not worth it! We need to get out of here before the rest of them find us!"

"Yes... you are right, George..." Razz agreed, taking a moment catch her breath, "Must get to safety so we can fight another day..."

Bow took Madame Razz by the hand and dragged her towards the back exit out of the shack. Bow opened the door and came face to face with two Horde clones standing outside, one in full white battle armor, the other in the same Horde ranger uniform he'd been wearing for the past couple of days.

"Etherian..." Nu Sigma greeted, "I believe this belongs to you."

Nu Sigma patted Bow on the shoulder and Bow felt something small and sticky where the clone touched him. Before he could react, electricity coursed through his body and he fell over, twitching uncontrollably. Razz swung her broom at the Horde clones, but it was caught by the one in full armor who took it from her and broke it in half. The Horde clone then picked up the old woman by the scruff of her neck and held her at arms length as she swung her fists uselessly against his metal armor.

"You killed Broom!" Razz screamed, "You evil monster!"

"I have this one handled, Brother," the armored clone reported, "What of the Rebel Leader?"

"It would appear that the Director has succeeded in her mission to disarm this one of all his toys," Nu Sigma stated as he searched Bow's body after restraining his arms behind his back, "Check the old woman for anything she might be hiding in those rags of hers."

"Hey! Watch it, buster!" Razz grumbled as the clone patted her body with his free hand.

"What's this?" the clone said as he put his claw into her pocket and pulled out a transparent plastic bag half full of white powder that shimmered in the sunlight, "Brother? Is this what I think it is?"

"That is... um..." Razz began to stammer nervously, looking at the bag the Horde clone was passing over to his brother, "Medication... For Razz's back pain..."

"Hmm..." Nu Sigma growled as he took the bag and sniffed it, "Midiclorians... Looks like the old woman knows how to have a good time..."

Catra groaned as she slowly stumbled out of the shack.

"Director Catra," Nu Sigma greeted with a bow, "Thank you for your timely arrival."

"Whatever..." Catra grumbled, "It looks like we're done here. Prepare the prisoners for processing and I'll inform the General that our mission was successful."

"Are you alright, Director?" asked the armored clone, "It looks like you have suffered multiple contusions on your face."

"I'm fine!" Catra shouted, "Just clean up this mess and get ready to move out!"

Bow stared at Catra with as much hatred as he could muster before Nu Sigma knelt next to him to put a black cloth bag over his head.

~*~

The thick bag over his head not only covered his eyes, but muffled his hearing. Bow could barely register what was going on around him. He could tell he was on a moving transport, one that hovered far above the ground by his estimate. There were other people around him, at least a dozen. Whether they were clones or other prisoners, he couldn't tell. After a few minutes of flying, the engines began to quiet down and he felt the transport land on something hard. Something walked over towards him and undid the restraints to his seat. Bow struggled against his handcuffs and got a hard metallic punch to the side of his head for his trouble.

"Hey!" Bow could hear Catra's voice shout from afar, "Easy on the goods! I want my prize looking nice and pretty for the General!"

Bow winced as he felt something touch the sensitive headwound through the bag. He felt a small, but firm hand push down onto his opposite shoulder and a heavy weight against his lap. He could smell Catra's breath as something soft and fuzzy brushed against his cheek.

"I told you to stop resisting... You see the trigger happy numbskulls I have to deal with..." Catra whispered softly to Bow, before her voice, "Look at this! He's bleeding, you idiots! Get him up!"

As Catra pulled out her hand from under Bow's burlap hood, he could smell the copper tang of blood soak into the bag. The weight lifted off his lap and two arms wrapped around his and carried him out of his seat, one arm was noticeably smaller than the other. Still unable to see, Bow walked along wherever his captors were taking him and he felt rain pouring down on him. The two arms then forced him into a kneeling position on the wet metal floor.

"Ta-da!" he heard Catra say as the bag was pulled off of his face, the world spinning and blurry as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

He saw something white moving towards him... no, actually it was blue... a blurry blue blob with red eyes staring dispassionately at him...

"I had received your report, Director," the person in front of him said, "I am somewhat disappointed in how few dissidents you had actually managed to capture despite having the element of surprise on our side."

Bow noticed the voice was that of a Horde clone, but this one was much softer and calmer than the others he had met. No, that's not right. He had heard this voice before. But where, he couldn't remember at the moment.

"Who cares about some dysfunctional kids and old revolutionaries?" Catra scoffed, "The Whispering Woods Rebellion is over! We got the guy in charge! Cut off the head and the body will die!"

Bow's vision began to focus and clear and he saw the man in front of him was indeed a Horde clone with blue skin and red eyes in the white uniform of an important military officer. Behind him, Bow recognized the industiral architecture of the Fright Zone. The clone stared intently into Bow's eyes before turning to look at something up and to the left of him.

"That is not the Rebel Leader..." the clone stated, exposing the smallest twinge of anger, "Is this all you have to show for your efforts, Director? A small half-naked child with a bow and arrow and an ancient opioid addict armed with a wooden cleaning utensil?"

"What do you mean he's not the rebel leader?!" Catra argued, her voice warbling a bit from the cold rain on her fur, "He's been spotted at every rebel encounter literally leading their forces!"

"Oh, Director..." the clone sighed, seemingly unaffected by the heavy rain pouring down on him, "I find your lack of imagination to be most disappointing. This one may have indeed been leading the attacks from the front lines, but I have reason to believe that there is another who has been planning the rebels' activities from a secured location in the rebel encampments. One who has been shielding the rebels' location from our sensors with powerful illusory magics."

"And how long do you expect me to go hunting around the woods for this 'secret rebel leader' who probably doesn't even exist?" Catra grumbled.

"If you find this task to be too... 'menial' for someone in your position, then you need only say so," the clone replied with an air of smugness, "You may return to Brightmoon now and await further orders. Your Emperor thanks you for your services to the Horde."

"Wait, no!" Catra called out, before taking a deep breath and bowing towards the clone, "I am sorry, sir! I didn't mean it like that! I am ready and willing to serve at your order..."

"No, Director, you are correct..." the clone assured her, "This is indeed a major victory for the Horde and I apologize for belittling your accomplishments. The rebellion has been severely diminished with the loss of its hero and I will use this asset you have obtained for us to plan our next attack. You have earned a rest for your good work today. Return to Brightmoon and prepare for your next assignment. You are dismissed, Director Catra."

Catra bowed again and turned to walk back towards the transport, leaving Bow alone with the clone general. The other clone standing to Bow's right walked up to his brother and handed him a golden bowshaft with a broken string.

"The rebel's weapon, Brother," the clone reported.

"Ah... yes," the clone general sighed in satisfaction, taking the bow in his hands to examine it, "A most elegant design... Yours, I take it?"

Bow said nothing as the clone held his bow in front of him. The clone frowned slightly as he handed the bow back to the clone trooper.

"Prepare it for display in my collection," the general ordered his brother before turning his attention back to the prisoner, "Rest assured: your weapon will remain in the best of care until it is ready to be returned to you. How long that is will depend on your cooperation, of course. We have much to discuss over the coming days."

"You..." Bow realized as he looked over the clone, "You were the one I was talking to in that cell. It was Nu Sigma's body that was in there, but your voice was the one that was speaking to me."

"Your insight serves you well, Commander," the clone complimented, a tiny smirk returning on his lips, "I would be remiss not to express my most sincere gratitude at the treatment of my brother while he was in your care. I can only hope you find our facilities to be just as accommodating to your needs."

"I don't care what you do to me," Bow growled at him, "I'm not going to tell you anything. I'll never betray my friends to the Horde."

"We shall see, Commander," the clone assured him, "But not today. You must be exhausted after such an intense battle and the long flight to Horror Hall..."

The clone's expression hardened as turned his attention to the two clone guards approaching from behind.

"Take him to his cell!" the clone ordered, "I want him well fed and rested so we can begin our interrogation in the morning!"

The guards grabbed Bow by each arm and led him inside. After a long series of twists and turns along the metal hallways and steel doorways, a pair of doors opened to reveal a gigantic room that Bow knew intimately, although he had never seen it so busy before. The Horde Prison was designed as a cylindrical panopticon, thousands of prison cells embedded in the wall on multiple levels with a single guard post in the center that raised up and down via a hydraulic elevator to be able see into each one. The Horde guards led him across a metal bridge to the command center and held him tightly as the bridge retracted and the room slowly lowered deeper into the prison.

"Hold still," a Horde clone inside the guard post ordered as he held up a white cloth, "This is going to hurt."

The clone wiped the cloth against Bow's bloody headwound and felt the alcohol sting him. As the clone in front began bandaging him, the guards to Bow's sides unlocked his cuffs and began forcibly taking off his clothes and armor, dressing him in an orange jumpsuit before recuffing his hands in front of him. While he was shirtless the guards began tending to the multiple scratches that adorned his body from his fight with Catra. They were only surface level cuts, requiring simple cleaning and sterilization. When the guard post stopped moving, another bridge extended out towards it and Bow's guards continued leading him along this new level. They all stopped in front of a green forcefield and one of them placed his hand on a panel next to the cell. The forcefield disappeared and Bow was thrown inside. Bow slowly got up from the ground and turned to face his captors. The forcefield had already reactivated except for a tiny rectangular hole in front of one of the guards.

"Place your hands through the opening and I will remove your restraints for you," the guard explained.

Bow sighed quietly and walked towards the forcefield so the guard could reach his hands. The guard grabbed the restraints firmly and pulled them through the opening before they snapped open, releasing him. Bow quickly pulled his hands back towards him and rubbed his sore wrists. The guard closed the forcefield completely and they left Bow alone in his new living arrangements. It took him a moment to realize he was standing in the exact same cell he was put in after Catra captured him during the Princess Prom. Numerous changes had been made in the intermittent time. The fold out metal bench he slept on had been replaced with a two story bunk bed with fresh mattresses, pillows and sheets. A toilet and sink had been installed on the back wall. Bow also noticed a number of tally marks on the wall that were not there the last time he was here. Most of them looked like they were made by a human fingernail, a woman's judging from the depth. A few were thinner and even deeper, suggesting a creature with retractable claws. Bow looked on the floor underneath the tally marks and noticed a fine blue powder on the ground. He bent over to rub it between his fingers before bringing it up to his nose to smell.

"Mysticore Hyssops..." Bow identified them, "Glimmer told me the sorcerers used these to draw magic runes. If I knew anything about magic, I could probably use these to cast a spell to get out of here."

"Hmm..." a voice groaned behind him, "Who is there?"

Bow got up and turned around, backing towards the wall away from the bed as something stirred from the top bunk and slowly leapt onto the ground. The dim light of the prison made the towering figure difficult to see, but Bow could recognize his deep red fangs and solid red eyes that glowed ominously in the dark.

"Hordak..." Bow gasped in shock.

"Have we met before?" asked Hordak, "My apologies... my memory is not what it once was... It would appear that you are my new... 'bunk mate'..?"


	66. Mermista, Session 7

"So, uhh..." Mermista began, lying fully clothed on top of Scorpia's bed, "Thanks for coming to see me. I'm really supposed to be moving around too much yet, but I really needed to talk to someone about all the stuff I've been going through."

"Oh, not a problem, honey," Double Trouble scoffed, sitting on a stool by Scorpia's dresser, "I was in the neighborhood anyway. I had to help Hordak and Entrapta with their... new circumstances..."

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to talk about that," Mermista sighed, "Did Entrapta tell you what she did at the party?"

"Yes," Double Trouble said, "But I'd like to hear it in your own words."

"She made us all believe that someone tried to poison us to make her boyfriend look good!" Mermista shouted, "And now we all have these Hordaks looking over our shoulder every waking moment! I mean, first she makes us think she died, then she helps the Horde almost destroy Etheria with the Black Garnet, then she sends giant killer robots after us! We find out she's been with the Horde this whole time and actually wanted to stay in this awful place! It's just... uggh... why does she do the things she does?"

"Now, not to sound judgemental or anything..." Double Trouble assured her, "But are you actually interested in trying to understand her perspective or do you just want to vent right now? I just wanna know how I should play off of you."

"I mean, if you think you can tell me what's going on in that armor plated head of hers, sure," Mermista groaned, "Be my guest!"

"Well, as with all stories it's usually best to start at the beginning..." Double Trouble began as she slowly transformed into Entrapta, "I mean, you don't exactly have the best grasp of social situations when you live in the basement of a dark scary mountaintop castle for most of your life while being raised by robots your parents built to take care of you while they went to excavate a first one's ruin only to mysteriously disappear without a trace. I was never good at social cues anyway, but I am good at making things, so I make things in the hopes of making people like me."

"Cool motive..." Mermista groaned, "Still attempted genocide..."

"I mean, you're the one who asked why I do the things I do," Entrapta explained, "I joined the princess rebellion because you all asked me to. I went to the Fright Zone to help Bow and Glimmer. I stayed in the Fright Zone because Perfuma asked me to stay put. I started helping Catra because it looked like you didn't need my help anymore, since you left me in the Fright Zone and all."

"We thought you were dead!" Mermista shouted, "I mourned you! Perfuma made you a statue out of trees in Plumberia!"

"I'm... honored..?" Entrapta stammered in confusion, "But the point is, whatever the cause... I was all alone... again... and Catra and Scorpia were nice to me. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a terrible judge of character and never really had a firm interest in understanding why you all were fighting in the first place. It didn't really matter who I was helping, I just wanted to be helpful. Also the Horde had a ton of cool stuff for me to play with and improve upon!"

"Is that why you got so buddy buddy with Hordak?" Mermista groaned, "Because he gave you toys."

"Mermista..." Entrapta stated, "Hordak is a cyborg alien vampire clone from another planet. I mean, even you have to admit that is super interesting for someone who spent their whole life studying advanced alien technology. I mean, imagine wanting to know something your whole life, and finding a person you can just... ask. Also, he is just that classiest person I've ever met. Did you know he called his laboratory a 'sanctum'? So fancy!"

"Wait a minute..." Mermista said in confusion, "Is this you pretending to be Entrapta being into Hordak or are you actually being into Hordak right now?"

"Oh, heavens no, honey," Entrapta scoffed, her eyes briefly turning into green reptilian slits, "Hordak is nowhere near my type. Sorry if I got a little too into character there..."

"Okaaay," Mermista replied, "Because for a second there, it sounded like..."

"Let's just move on," Entrapta suggested, "I think the best way to deal with these problems you have with me is to confront me directly. Because I'm not going to respond to your usual passive aggressive sarcasm. You need to tell me exactly and specifically what I've done to upset you or I'll just assume that nothing is wrong. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess," Mermista groaned.

"Did you want to practice with me first?" asked Entrapta.

"Yeah, okay..." Mermista sighed, taking a deep breath before looking her dead in the eye, "Entrapta?"

"Yes?" Entrapta replied cheerily.

"I need to talk about the things you've done," Mermista told them, "The ways you've hurt people without meaning to."

"Oh..." Entrapta said her expression visibly deflating, "What do you mean by that?"

"People could have been killed when you messed with the Black Garnet," Mermista explained, "Between the storm, the battle of Brightmoon, and the robots you built afterward to take over the Whispering Woods. The things you did for the Horde hurt people."

"I'm sorry," Entrapta said, "It was never my intention to hurt people. I just wanted to see if I was right. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"I don't know..." Mermista said, "What you did at the party makes things even worse..."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that too," Entrapta replied, "My feelings for him clouded my judgement. Have you ever done something stupid and reckless and self destructive for someone you loved? Or someone did for you?"

"Seahawke has nothing to do with this!" Mermista screamed at her, "This is about you and me, right now!"

Entrapta stared at Mermista for a second before giving a sigh of disappointment.

"Just so we're clear," Entrapta diagnosed, her demeanor shifting back to a more professional stance, "That was the bad way to handle things."

"Look..." Mermista argued, "Can we just establish some ground rules here? I don't need you mentioning Seahawke or how messed up my love life is right now."

"I didn't mention Seahawke," Entrapta explained, "I was just trying to help you find a commonality to help you better understand Entrapta's motivations."

"Don't give me that psychobabble crap!" Mermista shouted, "I know what you meant! It's just... Uggh... Look, it's just... things are complicated between the two of us right now and I really don't want to get into it."

"I'd say things have been getting complicated for a while," Entrapta observed, "Do you want to hear my opinion?"

"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway," Mermista grumbled, "So let's just get this over with."

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you how much Seahawke cares about you," Entrapta told her, "He's been pretty clear in his lavish displays of affection and he's never shy about public declarations of his love for you. You, on the other hand, seem to regard him with either annoyance or open contempt when you're both in public. So why do you bother letting him be around you at all? You're a princess, you have the power to have him banished, imprisoned or executed if you wanted to. But instead you take him out to special events with your friends or let him tag along in romantic encounters with other people. You're always ready to tell people he's 'just your ride' or you 'just can't get rid of him', but I'm certain someone of your position would have no trouble doing exactly that and finding someone else to fill his position."

"I don't think I like what you're implying about me..." Mermista threatened, "You wanna maybe rephrase that?"

"The point is... Seahawke has been very open about his feelings towards you," Entrapta said, "But you don't seem to want to solidly confirm your own to him, one way or the other. Could you tell me why you think that is?"

"Look... this never leaves this room," Mermista ordered, "And I do mean neeever! But I really do love the idiot even if he does get on my nerves all the time."

"So why do you find it so hard to tell him that?" asked Entrapta, "Don't you think he deserves to know how you really feel about him?"

"It's just that..." Mermista sighed, "I'm worried the whole reason he wants me is *because* I'm the girl who doesn't immediately fall for his whole charming pirate swagger routine. That if I told him how I really felt, he'd get bored and start looking for someone else. I've seen it happen a million times with other people. I mean, he fell in love with 'Mermista, the aloof mermaid who barely notices him', not 'Mermista, the girl who actually loves him despite all the crazy stunts he pulls'. I guess I'm scared that if I started showing how much I really cared, I'm just going to push him away."

"I can understand the impulse not to want to change things in your relationship for fear of ruining it," Entrapta said, "But if things keep going the way they are, you're going to lose him anyway. Right now, he's the one putting all the energy into this relationship, so if you don't start reciprocating those feelings, eventually he's going to burn out and leave you. You need to set that boy straight so you can both move on to the next stage, whatever that may be. The worst thing that can happen is he *does* get bored and start looking for greener pastures, but if that's the case, than he was never worth all this hassle in the first place. At some point, you need to trust him to be the man that you want him to be, and as always with trust, that comes with a big risk. But you can't save a relationship if you're not willing to risk it from time to time."

"Ugggh..." growled Mermista, "I don't know. I really don't want to deal with this right now."

"Okay," Entrapta sighed, "I'm certainly not going to make you do anything you don't want to. But if not now, when? The clock is ticking and it doesn't look like things are going to get any less stressful any time soon..."

~*~

DT's notes

Mermista, Session 6  
-Got a message from Mermista to meet her in the Fright Zone, what is she doing here?  
-I am very uncomfortable to be in this room in particular right now, but Mermista doesn't need to know that.  
-Mermista wants to discuss her feelings towards Entrapta's mistakes regarding the party.  
-It feels nice to go back to basic roleplay therapy, between the big move to Salineas and working on the play with Seahawke it feels like its been forever since I've done this  
-Suggested that Mermista be very direct in her interactions with Entrapta to help overcome her difficulty in reading social cues.  
-Practicing seemed to go well until the subject of Seahawke came up, I think it's high time to discuss her restrained feelings on the matter.  
-Finally managed to coax her real feelings on the matter, classic case of playing hard to get for way too long because she's afraid of him losing interest.  
-Encouraged her to tell Seahawke to truth, only time will tell if she bothers to take my advice.


	67. Catra, 3rd Analysis

Catra felt cold walking through the dark hallways in Brightmoon. Not just the temperature, but the mood. The only other people walking around were Horde clones, standing guard in white hooded robes and staring intently at her with their solid green eyes as she walked by. Catra couldn't stand looking at their expressionless faces frozen in a stern scowl, it didn't help that the first face of theirs she saw had tried to kill her multiple times.

"Whatever..." Catra whispered to herself, "Living well is the best revenge. He gets to rot in that cell of his while I get to have everything I ever wanted..."

Catra stopped in front of the doors to Adora's chambers and saluted the Horde clone standing guard.

"Welcome Home, Director," Lambda Omicron greeted with a big smile, "Would you like me to announce you to the She-Ra before you enter?"

Catra hesitated, taken aback by this clone's eagerness. She stood there with her eyebrow raised for a moment to determine whether or not his enthusiasm was sincere or if he was just messing with her brain.

"Yeah, sure..." Catra finally grumbled, crossing her arms, "Why not?"

The clone bowed and opened the doorway before entering the room.

"It is my great pleasure to present the Cat-Ra!" Lambda Omicron declared, "Director of all Etherian Affairs for the Horde and Victor of the Battle of the Whispering Woods!"

The clone then stood aside and bowed while Catra strutted into the bedroom. The clone twitched slightly as Catra's tail

"Hey, Adora..." Catra cooed, smirking proudly, "Did you miss me?"

Catra's posture deflated slightly when she saw Adora sitting arms and legs folded at the end of her bed staring daggers at her.

"I'm sorry..." Adora politely ordered the clone, "Could you please leave us? I would like to greet 'the director' in private."

"Of course, She-Ra," Lambda Omicron responded pleasantly, "If there anything else I can do for you before-"

"Now!" Adora said firmly, "Please..."

The clone jolted upright and walked out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

"Alright..." sighed Catra, "What did I do now?"

"You mean apart from barging in her like I'm supposed to be impressed with you right now?" Adora snarled, "For what? Helping the Horde hurt and capture my friends? Or how about leaving me locked up in this dank castle apart from all the thousands of creepy Hordaks standing around here? Or maybe I'm angry because I had to find out from Double Trouble that you've stopped going to therapy?"

"Why would I need to go back to therapy?" Catra asked calmly, crossing her arms in defiance, "I thought we were done with all of that business. You said yourself I was finally getting better."

"'Getting better' isn't just some switch you flip that makes everything you do suddenly okay!" Adora shouted, "It's supposed to be an ongoing process and making a commitment to always keep improving yourself. You don't just stop when you've had enough!"

"Fine, whatever..." Catra grumbled, throwing her hands up in submission, "I'll try to see if Double Trouble can fit me in sometime. Give me a break! I literally just got back here."

"I'm serious, Catra," Adora demanded, "No more of this 'secret mission for the Horde' nonsense so you can go off on your own to who knows where and leave me all by myself doing nothing."

"Alright! Alright..." Catra shouted, slumping into a chair in front of Adora, "Look what did you want me to say? 'Sorry, I'd love to go on this important mission to fight the Horde's enemies, but I'm worried about what my girlfriend would think of me!' I'm sure that would have gone over well and I wouldn't be standing in front of a clone firing line right now. And I didn't leave you alone! You've got Sparkles here, don't you? This is her castle, isn't it?"

"I don't even know anymore!" Adora screamed back, throwing her arms up in the air, "Since this whole stupid lockdown, I haven't even been allowed to leave my room, much less spend time with anyone else. Did you know I have to schedule an official meeting in order to see Glimmer now?"

"So why don't you just do that?" Catra argued, "I thought you guys were supposed to be friends or something."

"We are..." Adora replied, "But... things... It just hasn't been the same between us ever since... well... ever since the portal..."

"Look, I'm sorry about everything I did while working for Hordak," Catra said, "But I'm not going to take responsibility for every little thing that might or might not have happened because of it."

"I know... The thing between me and Glimmer isn't *totally* your fault," Adora admitted, "But that doesn't change the fact that Queen Angella's sacrifice put a big strain on our relationship. And the Horde taking over everything hasn't been helping."

"Fine, I'll schedule it myself, then," Catra glowered, "I'll try to get us together for dinner tomorrow morning. Happy?"

"No, I'm not!" Adora shouted, "I feel like I'm trapped in here. I can't go out. I can't see if my friends are okay. I can't do anything."

"Why would you want to?" Catra argued, "Just ask Lambda Omicron if you want to send out a message or get anything for you. That's what he's for."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," Adora growled, pointing at a mural on the wall that shimmered and sparkled, "I've spent the past two days polishing that wall over a dozen times because it's the only thing I have to look at while I'm stuck in here. I think I'm going insane!"

"Uggh, I know..." Catra sighed, "You're always like this. You always have to go fix something, even when nothing's wrong. Why can't you just relax for once in your life? There's nothing you can do anymore, so what's the point of stressing out about everything? We're safe, we're together, we can have anything we ever wanted. So why can't you just sit back and enjoy yourself for once?"

Adora folded her arms again and averted her gaze in a pout. Catra slowly got up and walked towards her, grabbing her chin with her claw to force her to look at her.

"I missed you..." Catra whispered, frowning as she looked into Adora's eyes, "I thought you would be happy to see me again..."

Catra closed her eyes and tilted her head to kiss Adora on the mouth. Despite her best attempts to stay firm, Adora felt her muscles began to relax and go slack as she couldn't help but grab the back of Catra's head and kiss her back.

"I missed you, too," Adora whispered back, placing her forehead against Catra's, "I just can't let myself get complacent and allow all of this to become normal for me. This is wrong, Catra, you know it is."

Catra didn't answer. She just sat next to Adora on the bed and cuddled next to her, her left claw intertwined with the fingers in Adora's right hand and her other arm held onto Adora's waist. Catra purred as Adora wrapped her free arm over her shoulder and began to softly pet her.

"I noticed you got a new haircut," Adora commented, playfully stroking behind Catra's ears.

"Yeah," Catra replied, "It just got too much to deal with in the Whispering Woods. Sticks and leaves were getting everywhere and I think a bug fell on me at one point."

"Careful..." Adora warned, "Keep this up and people might think you've been tamed. Before you know it, we'll have you wearing proper shoes."

"Oh, shut up..." Catra giggled.

"So... I'm guessing you're not allowed to tell me what you were doing in there?" Adora theorized.

"Yeah, I could get in a lot of trouble if I was caught revealing Horde military secrets..." Catra teased, stretching out as she laid back on the bed, "So what did you want to know?"

"Just tell me you didn't hurt anyone..." Adora said, getting up from the bed to face Catra.

"Pfft," Catra scoffed, "I wish... No, Adora, I was extra careful not to hurt anyone too bad. Even if I got attacked by some crazy lady with a broom before I could get everyone else to calm down."

"Wait a minute... Old lady?" Adora said, holding her hand up to her chest, "Was she yay high with pink rags and purple skin?"

"Yeah," Catra answered, sitting back up, "You know her or something?"

"Not well," Adora replied, "I found her living alone in the woods. Madame Razz helped me work through some stuff when I was first figuring out how to be She-Ra... She was there when I needed a friendly face after I decided to leave the Horde. Is she okay?"

"I mean, I guess..?" Catra replied, "The Horde put her in prison with the other terrorists, so at least she's in good company."

"What?" Adora called out, "She can't be in prison! You need to get her out of there!"

"Adora, I know I said you could ask for anything you want..." Catra said hesitantly, putting her claw on Adora's shoulder, "But I think you're really overestimating how much sway I have over the Horde right now. You're asking me to get a terrorist agitator released because she was nice to you one time. Next you'll asking me to let your Bow-friend out."

"Bow is in prison, too?!" Adora said, quickly grabbing Catra by the shoulders, "Catra, we need to do something!"

"Adoraaa..." Catra groaned, her expression growing dour in frustration.

"Uggh... right..." Adora groaned back, "I'm sorry. But I just can't sit here and do nothing."

"I know..." Catra sighed, "Look, I can schedule a visitation session so you can at least see how they're doing, okay?"

"Alright... fine..." Adora said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a few seconds, "Thanks, Catra... I am happy to have you back..."

Adora cradled Catra's head as she leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. Catra brought her claw up through Adora's hair and pulled her into a more intimate kiss on the mouth. The two young women held each other close in a silent embrace for awhile before Catra finally got up off of the bed.

"Okay," Catra finally said, "I'm going to need to start setting everything up. Dinner with the Queen, Visiting Bow and Crazy Lady in the Fright Zone, and I'll try to get back in touch with Double Trouble to schedule more sessions for us. Anything I missed, Adora?"

"No," Adora said flatly, fixing her hair.

"Alright," Catra sighed, quickly kissing Adora one last time on the lips, "I'll be back soon, Adora. I love you."

"I love you, too," Adora replied automatically.

Catra turned to leave, only to jump backwards onto a coffee table when the door opened on it's own, revealing a clone on the other side.

"Your grace, I have taken the liberty of scheduling your appointment for tomorrow evening with the Brightmoon Queen!" Lambda Omicron stated proudly, "I have also made preparations for transportation to Horror Hall at your earliest convenience!"

"What the freak?!" Catra cried out, her fur frazzled on end as she stood on all fours with her tail sticking out straight, "Have you been listening in on us this whole time, you creep?!"

"Yes!" answered Lambda Omicron without any hint of shame as he turned to Adora, "Incidentally, I would like to express my deepest sympathies regarding the incarceration of the She-Ra's companions and my sincere belief that they will be treated with care and patience as they are made to understand the errors of their antisocial behavior. Horde Prime's mercy is as infinite as his wisdom and I am certain they will be accepted as loyal citizens of the Horde when they recant their sinful ways."

The clone's cheery expression turned to nervousness as he looked upon the faces of the two women staring angrily at him.

"Oh, no..." Lambda Omicron realized, "I have said something to displease the She-Ra, haven't I?"

"Look, Wrong Hordak," Adora explained, "When someone asks you to leave the room, the implication is that they want their privacy and don't want anyone else to listen to what they have to say."

"Oh..." Lambda Omicron gulped, "My most grievous apologies, She-Ra... I had thought you had wanted no one to disturb you, which is why I stood right outside this doorway and carefully monitored what was happening inside."

"Uggh..." Adora sighed, "It's fine... just don't do it again."

"Hold up a second," Catra interjected, slowly getting down from the table "What did you just call him? 'Wrong Hordak'?"

"It's just this nickname I gave him," Adora explained, "It's easier for me to remember than Lamb the Unicorn 12345 or whatever..."

"I have... explained... to the She-Ra... that it is most inappropriate for me or my brothers to be given a name of our own," Lambda Omicron stuttered as he stood in front of Catra, "But I have... acquiesced... at her insistence... to better accommodate her needs."

"Uh-huh..." Catra chuckled, "Suuure you did."

"You are... not going to tell my brothers of this... indiscretion on my part, are you?" Lambda Omicron nervously asked Catra, "I doubt they would be as understanding of my care of the She-Ra in the glorious service of Horde Prime..."

"I'll think about it, 'Wrong Hordak'..." Catra sneered, "Just make so you don't go blabbing about my personal life to anyone else, got it?! You are dismissed..."

Lambda Omicron bowed gracefully before turning to leave, closing the door behind him. Catra let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and turned around to give Adora a playful smirk.

"What?" Adora asked, looking at Catra's half-lidded expression with confusion.

"You've been a baaad girl, Adora..." Catra cooed, walking slowly up to her with a big smile on her face, "And I'm going to have to punish you... Get on the bed!"

~*~

Third Analysis of the Director of Etherian Affairs  
Horde Unit Lambda Omicron Reporting

-It was my great pleasure to welcome the Director home after her successful campaign in routing the rebellion from the Whispering Woods  
-The She-Ra had wished to congratulate the Director personally after her victory, so I stood guard outside their quarters to make sure they we're not disturbed... and hopefully finally observe their mating ritual firsthand...  
-The She-Ra has expressed deep concerns about the Director's mental wellbeing  
-I find these Etherian Coupling Rituals to be most perplexing and fascinating, there is far more primal shouting and yelling than I was led to believe.  
-After their screaming ritual, the Director began regaling the She-Ra with the tale of how she spread Prime's love to the insurgents with efficiency and compassion.  
-The She-Ra is deeply concerned with the conversion process of the Whispering Woods rebels that were captured and hopes that they are soon made to see Prime's glorious light.  
-As always, I give thanks to Horde Prime for allowing me to take on this most honorable assignment, I seek only to please my brothers and bring glory to the Horde


	68. Bow, 2nd Interrogation

The guards dragged Bow into a small dark room with no light and a table with two chairs on either side of it. They sat him down on one chair and unlocked his restraints. In the darkness, Bow could see two green eyes staring at him from across the table.

"Prisoner Beta Omicron Omega two four six oh one," the figure greeted, two white claws clutching the back of the chair in front of it, "Magically conceived from the DNA of a respected historian and his husband, a retired soldier from the first Princess Rebellion, the youngest of thirteen in your family born in such a manner. You were originally being groomed to succeed your father, Lance, into running his library and museum, when you unexpectedly left home at an early age to pursue archery and a study of engineering to help fight in the second Princess Rebellion under the direct command of Queen Glimmer of Brightmoon, then a princess. Personal interests include the sculpting of miniature figurines, the playing of the lute, a passing knowledge of sailing and a vast collection of romantic novella, all pirate themed. Since the end of the war, you have been charged in order of severity with grand theft of government resources, multiple cases of assault and battery upon my brothers, kidnapping, terrorism, and finally attempted regicide. Are there any inaccuracies in my assessments?"

"You seem to know alot about me..." Bow groaned weakly.

"Horde Prime knows all..." the clone stated proudly, "Horde Prime sees all... It is useless to resist his will."

"So who are you then?" asked Bow, "What do I call you?"

"We do not have names, we are the Horde," the clone explained, moving around the chair to sit down on it, "I have been assigned to be your interrogator. That... is all you need to know."

"But if Horde Prime knows everything, what does he need an interrogator for?" Bow snarked.

"You will soon learn to regret your insolence," the clone threatened, "You are nothing more than a common criminal. You have been apprehended leading an unwarranted attack against Etheria's legitimate governments. The least that will happen to you is for you to stand trial for your crimes and be punished accordingly. But I am offering you the opportunity for that experience to be civilized and expedient in return for your cooperation."

"And what exactly am I cooperating with?" Bow asked the clone.

"I simply need you to answer my questions truthfully," the clone replied, "Be assured that any deception on your part will be quickly found out, and you will face consequences."

The clone tapped a button on the table and a set of bright spotlights shined directly into Bow's face, two of the lights flanked the clone on either side.

"Tell me," the clone ordered, "How many lights do you see?"

"I..." Bow stammered, squinting under the blinding light, "I see four lights."

"Wrong..." the clone corrected, "There are five... Are you absolutely sure?"

Bow raised his hand to block the lights shining into his eyes and looked again.

"I can only see four," Bow answered.

"I don't see what you hope to accomplish by your resistance to even the simplest of my questions," the clone sighed, turning around in his chair, "There are five-"

The clone stopped talking as he looked back at the spotlights behind him. He pushed the button on the table and the lights turned off. The clone reached into the darkness and Bow could hear a squeaking noise as the clone repeatedly twisted his wrist away from him. He then pulled something up to his ear and shook it to listen inside. Finally, he again reached into the darkness and began twisting his wrist again, the object he was holding squeaking with every twist.

"My apologies," the clone told Bow, "Let us try again. How many lights do you see?"

The clone pushed the button on the table a third time and the lights ignited again into Bow's face, with one more shining above the clone's head.

"Now, I see five lights..." Bow said confidently.

"Good," the clone said with a tiny smirk, "Now that we have established a biometric baseline for when you are telling the truth, we can properly begin our interview. Inject the serum."

The two guards standing beside Bow held him down by the shoulders and one of them stabbed his arm with a needle. Bow felt his body begin to relax on its own as the drugs coursed through his veins.

"Now, Etherian," the clone demanded, "I want you to tell me everything you know about your compatriots in the Whispering Woods and their current whereabouts..."

~*~

Hordak was lying down on the top bunk of his cell, calmly reading a book on the applications of Etherian magic, when he heard the sounds of two sets of heavy footsteps dragging something between them. He carefully folded the page he was on before closing the book and climbing off of the bed to look out the green forcefield. Before long, two clone guards had arrived carrying a drowsy young brown-skinned man with a mustache between them.

"Stand back, Prisoner," one of the clones ordered, "Place your hands against the wall."

Hordak did as he was told and the guard turned off the force field so his partner could toss his captive onto the cell floor. Hordak waited for the forcefield to turn back on and the guards to walk away before he turned around and knelt down beside Bow to examine him.

"Get avay fom me, Hardak!" Bow slurred as he feebly swatted his arm at the Horde clone above him.

"You are suffering from the effects of Sodium Pentathol," Hordak told him firmly, picking up Bow by the shoulders, "We need to get you to your bed before you-"

Bow retched and felt a burning liquid come out of his mouth and nose to splatter onto the metal floor beneath him.

"Do that..." Hordak sighed, dragging Bow towards the back of the cell, "Come on, let's get you over to the sink to clean you up."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Bow admitted, planting his face in the sink and splashing himself with water, "I failed everyone. I told them everything. As soon as they stuck the needle in me, I just couldn't stop talking... I'm a useless failure... I just want to lie down and die."

"You can lie down after you've finished purging the drugs from your digestive system," Hordak advised, "But if it is any consolation, I am fairly certain you were in no condition to answer their questions coherently."

"But I did!" Bow shot back, his head finally beginning to clear, "I told them everything I knew. After I literally spilled my guts to them, they thanked me for my cooperation and dragged me back here. So much time and effort spent keeping the rebellion safe from the Horde, and I blow it all in one day."

"Yes, that is the intended effect the drug," Hordak explained, "To make you believe you lost control and told them everything you knew, when in actuality you probably spent the whole session sputtering out of control and babbling like a madman. It is meant to demoralize you and convince you it is in your best interest to cooperate. That way when they ask you to come back and 'follow up' to confirm the intelligence you've 'already given them', you can provide them with accurate intelligence while of a sober mind, under the belief you are not providing anything they don't already know."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Bow moaned as he wobbled over to the bottom bunk and collapsed on it.

"It is standard procedure for extracting information from alien prisoners," Hordak explained, walking over to the forcefield to look outside, "I had to perform this operation myself more than once while I served under Horde Prime."

"Okay," Bow mumbled into his pillow, "But why bother telling me all this? Aren't your brothers going to be mad at you for sabotaging their interrogation?"

"To be quite frank, I have found little reason to assist in Horde Prime's efforts in any way as of late," Hordak growled, "And I have a vested interest in ensuring your wellbeing. My good standing among the prison authorities is allowing me special privileges over the coming days and I cannot allow your poor health to jeopardize it."

"So you're betraying your entire family for... what?" Bow told him, rolling over in disbelief, "Better food? A bigger room? More time in the yard?"

"For Entrapta..." Hordak sighed.

"What?" Bow shouted out, his voice growing increasingly higher in pitch as his drug addled brain processed what he just heard, "Entrapta? What?!"

"It is fairly simple," Hordak exposited, "I am attempting to earn extended visiting privileges, so I can spend quality time alone with the Princess Entrapta of Dryl. We are... in love."

Bow lay silent for several minutes as he squinted in disgust at Hordak's face.

"What?!" he finally squeaked out.

~*~

"She then told me that my imperfections were beautiful to her..." Hordak recalled, sliding his food tray along the cafeteria lineup, "That someone so educated... so ingenious could see my defects as not just useful, but beautiful... It made me question everything I was taught to believe about myself and the Horde."

Bow followed behind Hordak suspiciously with his own tray as he listened to his long story. A prisoner on the other side of the serving area wearing a frycook hat dunked a ladle into a big pot of brown liquid and callously poured brown sludge onto Hordak's tray.

"I knew at that moment I would do anything for her," Hordak finished, "To protect her, care for her..."

"Wow..." Bow gasped, as the frycook slopped another pile of sludge onto his tray, "I mean, Entrapta told me you both became lab partners on Beast Island, but I never realized things had gotten that serious between the two of you."

"Beast Island..." Hordak repeated in surprise, "You were on Beast Island with her?"

"Scorpia defected to the Princess Alliance to tell us what happened to her," Bow explained, "Me, Adora and Swiftwind went out to rescue her."

"You were... the ones who rescued her?" Hordak realized, lifting his full tray from the sliding shelf, "Then it would appear, in fact, that I owe you a great debt indeed, Prisoner Beta Omicron Omega Two Four Six Oh One."

"Just call me Bow," Bow told him, carrying his own tray as he followed him, "And don't mention it. Entrapta is my friend, too."

"If you would permit my continued company, I would be most interested in discussing your history together," Hordak suggested, looking at Bow with an uncomfortable smile, "She has made clear that she wants me to be more time attempt to ingratiate myself to all her friends."

"Fine, whatever..." Bow sighed, scanning the vast rows of prisoners sitting down at the long benches and tables set up in the eating area, "I don't see anywhere for us to sit, though. This place sure got a lot busier than the last time I was here."

"The last time you were here?" Hordak asked.

"Well, yeah," Bow replied, "You see, I was with Glimmer when she got captured and they put me in that tiny cell all by myself. If it weren't for that whiny old woman in the lower levels screaming about getting revenge on you and the princesses who abandoned her, I would have thought I was the only one in here."

"I do not understand," Hordak said in confusion, "I had designed this facility to take in prisoners from all our engagements and condition them back into service for the Horde. If anything, this place should be less occupied, now that it is only responsible for handling criminal offenders in Horror Hall."

"Prisoners?" Bow repeated, "The Horde never took any prisoners when they attacked. They mostly just destroyed any village they came across and shot at anyone who didn't hide or run away."

"That does not make sense," Hordak argued, "Electrical stun weapons were standard issue equipment for all soldiers working for the Horde. I had made it standard operating procedure to bring in any enemy combatants back to the Fright Zone alive."

"Well, there's what you told people to do..." Bow told him, "And there's what people did. Did you actually not have any idea why the whole Princess Rebellion was a thing?"

"Obviously, I assumed it was just the desperate retaliation of a comfortable ruling class afraid of losing their power," Hordak grumbled, "The whole purpose of our incursions was to make Etheria a loyal functioning colony to Horde Prime, to show the peasants suffering under the tyrannical rule of bloodline monarchy that a better world was possible under our leadership."

"Uh-huh, maybe that's what you intended to do," Bow explained, "But I'm pretty sure most people only joined the Horde because it gave them an excuse to hurt people they already hated."

"Unbelievable..." Hordak growled, "That my own soldiers would co-opt my campaign to settle their own petty vengeance. This is a betrayal of everything I worked to achieve."

"But you see how what you did was so much worse, right?" Bow told him, "That you built an empire to take over the world with you at the top and you didn't even bother to check what it was actually doing to everyone else? That we have lost so many people because of you and you didn't even care enough to find out about it?"

Hordak looked down at his food in contemplation as Bow continued to look around for someplace to sit down.

"It would appear that I have much more to atone for than I had first realized," Hordak said quietly at his own reflection.

"There's a spot," Bow said, gesturing towards a mostly empty table, "Wait a minute... is that Madame Razz?"

The lone occupant of the table was an elderly woman with wrinkled purple skin wearing an orange jumpsuit and yellow tinted glasses that magnified her eyes to a ridiculous degree. Her normally wild mane of gray hair had been cut short, presumably to keep her from hiding anything in it. Bow noted how skinny and weak she looked without the heavy, brightly colored rags she usually adorned herself in. As Bow approached her, he could see that her entire body was shaking slightly.

"Razz?" Bow asked her, "Is that you? It's me, Bow."

"Bow..." Razz repeated, not looking up from the table as she continued shaking uncontrollably, "We can't make pie today, sweet boy. Madame Razz is not feeling well, maybe tomorrow."

"Are you alright?" Bow asked, placing his tray down on the table across from her, "Did the Horde do something to you?"

"Madame Razz will be fine, George," said Razz, waving him off, "Razz just needs to find her medicine. It is so hard to find your way around the Woods these days, everything has changed so much..."

"Razz, we're not in the woods anymore," Bow explained, "This is the Fright Zone. We're in prison. Don't you remember?"

"Yes, Razz is not well today, George," said Razz, barely acknowledging Bow's presence, "Come back tomorrow and you can help gather berries to make pie, okay?"

"What is wrong with her?" Bow asked Hordak, who stood back from the table at a distance, "What did the Horde do to her?"

"I doubt my brothers have paid much care to her at all," Hordak answered, "If I had to guess, her symptoms are similar to the effects of extreme drug withdrawal. It is possible the prison has not been medicating her properly."

"Medicine..." Bow thought to himself, "When we were both captured the Horde found a bag of drugs on her. She said it was for her back pain. What was it called..? Midiclorians?"

"Midiclorians?!" Hordak shouted in surprise, "That is not pain medication! That is a hard recreational opioid meant to induce euphoria! It's withdrawal effects can be life threatening if not carefully treated! How long has she been taking it? Nevermind... Hold this for me!"

Hordak passed his tray over to Bow, who placed it on the table beside him as Hordak began digging frantically in his chest pocket. Hordak pulled out a small white pill and closely examined it before placing it on the table in front of Razz.

"Take this," Hordak ordered her, "It's called hydromorphone. Entrapta gave this to me as a precaution for when my defects cause me intense physical pain. It will not be as pleasurable as what you are used to, but it should help curb the effects of what you are feeling right now."

Razz looked at the tiny pill in front of her carefully for a few moments before she swatted it away in anger.

"Bah!" Razz cried out, getting up from the table, "Razz does not need your poison, Hordak! Razz remembers what you did to her, what you did to her entire family!"

"Razz!" Bow scolded as he ducked under the table to look for the missing pill.

As Hordak backed away from the table with his palms up in submission, Razz pulled out a small piece of metal, sharpened to a point, and held it threateningly up to Hordak's chest. Both Bow and Hordak were shocked to see how tall the old woman was now that she was no longer hunched over her broom or wearing her many colorful rags. She stood a full head above Bow in height

"Razz will never forget the people you have hurt!" Razz declared, "The lives you've destroyed! Razz was too cowardly to fight you the last time around! But no longer! Razz will be strong! Razz chooses to be brave!"

The entire room fell silent as Hordak stood perfectly still, hands in front of towards the old woman, the shiv shaking in her hand. After a few moments of silence, Hordak slowly took a step forward and knelt down on both knees, the jagged blade sitting dangerously close to his neck as he stared unblinkingly into her eyes.

"If you intend to kill me, then I am fully prepared to die," Hordak said calmly, "But for whatever little it is worth, I am truly sorry for harm I have done to you and your people..."

Hordak closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards

"Razz, no!" Bow shouted at her, getting up to grab her by the arm, "Not here! Not like this..."

Razz looked back at Bow in surprise, then back at Hordak in anger, tears welling in her eyes. Her hands continued to gradually tremor until she finally let go of the knife and fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Mara..." Razz choked out, "Razz is still the same old coward she always was... Razz couldn't stop them this time either..."

Bow caught her in his arms and the old woman began to cry loudly into chest. Hordak reacted instantly and caught the shiv as it fell. With the old woman turned away from him for the first time, Hordak noticed two holes cut into the back of her prison uniform to make room for a pair of small white feathered wings that sprouted from her back, scarred, shriveled and withered from atrophy. As the other prisoners and guards looked over to see what was causing the commotion, Hordak quickly snatched the piece of metal from the ground and walked nonchalantly towards the kitchen to safely dispose of it.

~*~

Second Interrogation of the Rebel Commander, Bow  
Horde Unit AK-13145 reporting

-First encounters have proven difficult, I think it will be some time before I can begin to foster trust with the target, given my history.  
-Provided care for subject during his first experience with interrogation drugs.  
-Attempting to use common acquaintances to establish rapport, progress is slow  
-Interrogation was interrupted by a violent incident in the mess hall, main priority became the safety and well being of all involved  
-No actionable intelligence gathered as of yet, will continue careful monitoring of subject while we are both interred in this facility


	69. Seahawke, Lesson 6

"What have you all done to my magnum opus?!" Double Trouble cried out dramatically as they looked through the script, "I leave you alone for one day and you go and change everything?!"

Double Trouble paced frantically around the stage as they read through the production's changes in horror, with Seahawke carefully following closely behind them.

"Oh, what nonsense!" Seahawke scoffed, looking over their shoulder, "All we did was make a few adaptational changes to the source material to help make the story more manageable!"

"But some of this stuff never even happened!" Double Trouble said, quickly flipping through the book and pointing out a particular page, "Like right here! Shadow Weaver curses Glimmer's crown to, and I quote, 'Take over her mind and steal her soul'? What possible reason could you have for making that up?"

"Well... it's just that... the way your play was written..." Seahawke muttered nervously, "Glimmer comes off as just the teensiest bit... unsympathetic... after she becomes Queen..."

"Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat every bad thing the princesses did to spoonfeed a moral to people," Double Trouble argued, "My play is supposed to be a 'warts and all' retelling of events regarding the war and leave it up to the audience to decide whether or not the characters are redeemable."

"Except it's not 'warts and all' unless you include everything!" Seahawke said, grabbing the script from Double Trouble, "I've noticed you haven't included that fun time Mermista told me about when they made up that planning session to take over that riverside watchtower near the border of Brightmoon, or that time Adora got high on First One's Tech in the Northern reach and me and Scorpia had to look after her. In fact, I've noticed you haven't included Scorpia in this play at all. Which is a big shame because I wrote this fun little number for her to do with Emily."

"Look I just don't think any of that is important to the overall story," Double Trouble explained, "We're not going to go over every little thing that happened. Like what color underpants Bow was wearing or who had what for lunch before the siege of Brightmoon."

"But you don't you see? Even that is a decision you've made to change what really happened!" Seahawke pointed out, "No one's story is completely objective, we are all partial to our own experiences. So we have to think about what it is we really want to say!"

The actor playing Hordak cleared his throat loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Actually, if we're talking about changes we wanted to make to the play," he said, "I'm a little uncomfortable about my character dying at the end. It seems a little anti-climactic given what the relationship with Entrapta was hinting towards. Maybe it was just a secret plan to make it look like he died, so she could take him back to Dryl and rebuild him into a cool robot or something..."

"Dying?" Double Trouble repeated, "Hordak doesn't die at the end. He just gets captured and reprogrammed by aliens."

"Oh, that's another thing I forgot to mention," Seahawke replied, "It seems that the Horde caught wind of our little performance and sent over some people to... ensure the accuracy of our historical account. Apparently, they prefer the version of events where Catra kills Hordak at the end because it makes helps support the legitimacy of her current position in Etherian politics right now."

"Greaaat..." Double Trouble groaned, "So on top of everything else, I now have government censorship to worry about. What's next?!"

"I had an idea!" Jenny suggested, "Maybe we could have more cute and furry animals in the play to cater to our younger audience!"

"Oh!" Brother Alfred piped up, "And at the end of each story, they could address the audience directly to educate them on proper morals and virtuous behavior!"

"And does there have to be so much explicit reference to Catra and Adora's relationship?" added an actor in green makeup wearing a long green cape and a giant green helmet with a long lime blonde ponytail coming out the top, "Couldn't we just leave it ambiguous and let people form their own opinion on it?"

"That wasn't an invitation!" Double Trouble shouted in frustration, "What in Etheria are you supposed to be anyway?"

"I'm Sidney," the actor replied earnestly, "I play you."

"What do you mean, 'You play me'?" asked Double Trouble, their eyes narrowing in contempt at the ridiculous costume, "You don't look anything like me!"

"Well... I..." Sidney stuttered, "Umm..."

"Nevermind!" Double Trouble snarled, "We're cutting this character from the play! You're fired!"

"What?" the actor gasped, "But... I... umm... what?"

"I don't see how I can make myself any clearer!" Double Trouble shouted, pointing at the front door, "Take your things and get out! Right now!"

"Okaaay!" Seahawke interjected, grabbing Double Trouble by the shoulders and pushing them towards the dressing rooms, "I think emotions a running just a little high right now, so how about we all call it a day and go home? I hope to see you all bright and early tomorrow! Nobody is fired!"

"What are you-?!" Double Trouble grunted as they struggled, "Hey! Let go!"

Seahawke just smiled and waved at the disgruntled actors as they slowly dispersed from the auditorium while keeping a tight grip on Double Trouble's arm. His expression stayed bright and cheery until he forced them both into the private room and slammed the door behind them.

"Now, I am trying to be understanding here..." Seahawke said firmly, tearing a page from his clipboard and sitting down in their comfy chair, "But a good captain never treats their crew with the callous disregard you have shown here today! Now... I want you to sit down and tell me what is going on!"

"Why does something have to be going on?" Double Trouble argued, "Don't think that you can just pretend to be my therapist by putting on a commanding voice and sitting in my chair taking notes without any proper training."

"Why not?" Seahawke shrugged, "You seemed to handle it just fine."

Double Trouble drooped their arms and stared wide eyed in shock at Seahawke.

"What?" Double Trouble said flatly.

"Oh, come now, old sport..." Seahawke chuckled, "You yourself told me some of this motley band were your old compatriots. You didn't honestly believe I wouldn't ask them about your history, did you?"

"I guess I just didn't expect *you* to be the one to figure it out..." Double Trouble sighed, lying back on the couch in defeat, "So how long have you known?"

"Oh, not long at all," Seahawke scoffed, writing down on his clipboard, "Now tell me, is this why you've been so tempermental lately? A fear of your lack of professional qualifications being found out? Perhaps you've begun to feel overwhelmed with moments of self doubt and feelings of inadequacy?"

Double Trouble let out a deep breath and tilted their head up to the ceiling.

"Okay, I get it..." Double Trouble grumbled, "You don't have to rub it in. I messed up, I'm sorry."

"Now, my good friend. This isn't meant to be a punishment," Seahawke explained, "I genuinely want to try to help you. I'm not here to judge you for wanting to try something without fully understanding what it is you're doing first. Believe me, it is a feeling I know all too well."

"Oh, it's so much worse than that..." Double Trouble admitted, "At first, it was just another confidence scheme for me to make money. The princesses were already easy marks and they all had more money than they knew what to do with. I figured I'd just milk them for whatever I could get and skip town before they realized I had no idea what I was actually doing. All of my advice was just based on my life experience and watching plays and shows about psychiatrists. It was just another role for me. I didn't expect any of it to be actually helpful."

Double Trouble sat up and curled into a ball, their tail wrapping around their legs.

"But then I committed the cardinal sin of all scam artists, I started to believe my own lie," Double Trouble continued, "After you and Mermista came back to me and told me how much better you were doing... I started thinking I could just keep doing this... After all, it paid more than anything else I ever did with my life and it didn't look like anybody was actually getting hurt. At least... that's what I told myself. But then things started to go wrong after that baseball game. I thought I could fix it, but I just kept making things worse. I was in too deep now. I just kept meddling and meddling in people's lives without thinking about the consequences until I completely ruined things for everyone... "

"Let's keep things specific," Seahawke suggested, "What is it that you think you did that made things worse?"

"I fell in love with one of my patients," Double Trouble replied, "And then I got drunk and sent an anonymous letter to her girlfriend because I was jealous. I ruined the lives of two people who did nothing to deserve it because I was a petty little dipstick. I hurt the person I cared the most about for no reason."

"Mmhmm, mmhmm," Seahawke nodded, writing down on their clipboard, "You're talking about Princess Scorpia and Perfuma, correct?"

Double Trouble turned to glare at Seahawke.

"Scorpia and I like to talk about ourselves," Seahawke explained, "We've been pen pals since we met this one time in the northern reach. We share funny stories, daily stresses, relationship problems..."

"Right..." Double Trouble sighed, "So I guess she told you all of this already. She still hates me, doesn't she?"

"To be honest, neither of you seem to want to talk about what happened," Seahawke replied, "If you want my opinion, I don't think either of you have been dealing with this in a healthy manner. You both seem to want to ignore the incident ever happened and distract yourselves with work. So you bottle up your emotions deep inside you until the pressure causes them to explode out of you like what happened today. I think you both need to talk to each other about what happened so that you can properly move on."

"Scorpia doesn't need to see me again..." Double Trouble said dejectedly, "I've hurt her enough already. She's better off without me."

"I refuse to believe that for a second," Seahawke declared, jumping out of their seat to pose dramatically, "Do you think I just gave up and hid away from the world when I accidentally set fire to Brother Agatha's prized berry bush? Or the first time I burned down our ship while serving under Captain Scurvy? Or the third time I burned down our ship while serving under Captain Scurvy?"

Double Trouble simply stared expressionless and wearily at Seahawke's attempt at an inspiring speech.

"No, I didn't!" Seahawke continued, "Because when you make a mistake, you just keep putting yourself out there and try again! You don't give up and you keep at it, even when everyone else is telling you to stop because you don't know what you're doing! And after you lose all your friends and no one else wants to let you one their ship because you keep setting them on fire, you go find a beautiful princess to try to convince into letting you sail her ship. And when you are laying prostrate in front of a royal tribunal, facing execution for stealing the royal yacht without permission and setting it on fire, you get down on you knees begging for forgiveness and tell her you are willing to do anything to make it up for her. And after a night of passionate lovemaking in service to her, you ask her for a loan to commission your own ship to sail and eventually burn down. And after you burn that one down you ask her for another loan... and another one... and another one..."

Seahawke froze as he pointed up to the ceiling in triumph and his eyes grew wide with realization.

"I..." Seahawke stuttered, "I think I might actually have a serious problem, now that I say it all out loud..."

"A deficiency in impulse control marked with characteristics of pyromania..." Double Trouble diagnosed, "Very difficult to treat in adulthood without intense psychotherapy over a long period of time, and even then the rate of recovery is generally poor... Damn it, I'm doing it again..."

"You see!" Seahawke pointed out, "Just because you never went to some fancy school doesn't mean you can't still help people!"

"Look..." Double Trouble said as they sat up over the side of the couch, "I appreciate what you're trying to do... really, I do... But you're probably the biggest cautionary tale of what can happen when I let myself indulge in my worst behaviors."

"Why, thank you!" Seahawke smiled obliviously, "I just wouldn't know what to do if our entire cast decided to quit because our producer decided to become a narcissictical micromanaging drama queen. We're all supposed to be working together, eh what?"

Double Trouble flashed Seahawke an angry look as he stood over them.

"But more importantly..." Seahawke continued, placing a hand on their shoulder, "You're my friend... and I'm worried about you..."

Double Trouble looked down and let out a long sigh before returning their gaze up Seahawke's eyes.

"Thanks, Seahawke..." Double Trouble said smiling weakly, "I guess I have been a pretty terrible friend, haven't I? I'm sorry..."

Double Trouble grabbed Seahawke's shoulder and stood up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"So, does this mean you'll take another look at our ideas?" Seahawke said, passing over his clipboard to Double Trouble.

"I'll try to keep an open mind..." Double Trouble promised him, "But I'm still not sure about this stuff you wrote for Scorpia. We don't even have anyone to play her yet."

"Now... I've actually had someone in mind for that," Seahawke explained, "There's this new up and comer who's a close friend of mine. This will be her first audition, never performed in front of a crowd before. But I think she has a lovely voice and I'm sure she'll be perfect for us in this role."

"Okay then..." Double Trouble said with weary optimism, "What's this newgirl's name?"

"Lynda... D'Ream..." answered Seahawke, "Trust me... You're going to love her."

~*~

Seahawke's notes, Lesson 6

-Things... aren't going well in presented the few small changes we've had to make to our production over the past couple of days.  
-Something tells me this is about more than just a few script suggestions... I think it's time to sit down our Producer and have a talk about our feelings.  
-When DT asked me to cover for them... I wasn't expecting to be doing this job, too.  
-This is just like when Mermista gets huffy over something I did and I have to play a silly guessing game to figure out what I did in the first place to upset her so.  
-After finding out they never went to college, maybe this is about them suffering from imposter syndrome and wanting to overcompensate.  
-Ah... Of course... Unrequited romantic issues with feelings of overwhelming guilt for past mistakes... We've all been there...  
-I mean, DT screwed up and feels bad about it... maybe I should try to get them both to open up to each other... Methinks a Cupid I shall play...  
-Secret plan to help Scorpia and Double Trouble move past their bad breakup is a go...


	70. Scorpia, 1st Analysis

"And these facilities here will be repurposed into production for anti gravity repulsors for our transports and automated drones..." a Horde clone explained to Scorpia as he pointed to a large map of the Fright Zone set up against the wall in Hordak's old lab.

"Uh-huh..." said Scorpia, her eyes glazing over the many reports and diagrams on the table in front of her, "But why don't we just use the old skiff factory here? Wouldn't they have all the stuff you need to make things float?"

Scorpia pointed at another building on the map.

"Unfortunately, your highness, while I'm sure the technology may appear similar to your planet's... humble understanding of machinery," the clone answered, "Your production facilities are far too obsolete to be of much use for our purposes without an extensive overhaul of the entire system. This location is more suitable because it's proximity to the other nearby facilities we will develop which I will describe on this next slide."

"Okay..." Scorpia replied, "I just think it would be easier for everyone who's used to that being the tank garage."

"What previous use that building had will be irrelevant," the clone argued, "Whatever operations that are not completely automated will be performed by a small staff of specialized engineers brought here from offworld."

"Oh..." said Scorpia, "But wouldn't it be easier just to use some of the people that already worked here? I mean, our Horde had engineers too and we did alright with them."

"Yes, but they were not properly trained to use our equipment," the clone growled, attempting to hide his growing frustration, "Which is why these buildings here are going to be repurposed into training facilities to reeducate the Etherian population in the safe use of our advanced technology. Respectfully, your highness, all of this would have covered if you simply allowed me to continue with my presentation. So would you please wait until I have finished before asking your questions?"

"Oh... okay..." Scorpia said, scratching the back of her head nervously with her claw, "Sorry..."

"Thank you, your highness," the clone said, taking a deep breath before returning his attention to the big map on the wall, "Now, the power supply infrastructure for this installation is one of the most labyrinthine and needlessly complicated I have ever seen, so we are going to have to pull out and replace the entire electrical system cable by cable into something much more manageable. I do not know who my brother got to implement such a disaster, but they had to have been one of the most disorganized and diseased minds I have ever encountered..."

The clone's grumblings were interrupted by the sounds of metal banging loudly against each other coming from the ceiling. The clone looked up to see what was making the noise and quickly jumped out of the way from a falling airvent pipe that smashed into the ground where he was standing. A tiny head with purple pigtails poked out of one of the ends and examined its surroundings.

"Hi, Scorpia!" Entrapta greeted, pulling out a gloved hand to wave at her, "Sorry to drop in like this, but there's something important I have to tell you."

"Entrapta?" Scorpia said, getting up from their seat, "What are you doing here?"

"Who is this intruder?" the clone roared, "And how did they get past our guards?"

"I'm sorry, could you give us a bit of privacy?" Entrapta said, climbing out of the vent before her hair pulled her up to the clones face, "Just for a second, I just need to talk to my friend about something very personal and then I'll be gone, okay?"

"I will not stand for this blatant disregard of protocol!" the clone shouted in anger, "My presentation was scheduled weeks in advance for the Princess and I will not have my preparations be squandered by some arrogant wretch!"

"Oh..." Entrapta said, pointing behind the clone with her hand, "Then why is he here?"

The clone looked at what Entrapta was pointing at, only to see an empty corner of the room. The clone was about to turn back around when purple tendrils of hair wrapped around his arms and legs and placed a wet cloth over his nose and mouth. The clone struggled fruitlessly against his captor for a few moments before his eyelids grew heavy and he slowly began to lose consciousness.

"Shh..." Entrapta hushed as her hair slowly laid the clone against the ground, "It's okay. I've got you. Just lie back and go to sleep..."

Entrapta kissed the Horde clone on the cheek and turned around to face Scorpia.

"Okay, as much as appreciate not having to sit through another boring session of Horde clone's telling me what to do," Scorpia said calmly before grabbing Entrapta's shoulders and shaking her, "WHAT THE HORDE IS GOING ON HERE?!"

"Oh, you're mad at me..." Entrapta realized, looking down at the ground, "That's okay, I'll come back later..."

"No! I'm not mad!" Scorpia shouted, before taking a moment to take a deep breath and calm down, "I'm not mad... I just want to know what's so important you had to chloroform that guy."

"Okay, because I'm about to tell you something I'm actually pretty ashamed of..." Entrapta said, "And I'm worried we're not going to be friends anymore..."

"Entrapta, it's alright..." Scorpia assured her, tilting Entrapta's head back up to face her with her claw, "I'm here for you... I know how hard it must be for you now that Hordak is in prison. But don't worry, I'm going to fix this so the two of you can get back together. Whatever you have to tell me, I can take it."

"Yeaaah..." Entrapta replied, "About that... Remember how after Hordak warned everyone about the poisoned cake and how I was the one that ran the test to confirm it was poisoned."

"Uh-huh," Scorpia nodded.

"Well, you see. I kind of... didn't want anyone to think he ruined the party for no reason..." Entrapta admitted nervously, "So I made sure he was right..."

"Okaaay," Scorpia said, trying to follow along, "How did you do that?"

"I..." Entrapta tried to say before blurting everything out, "I FAKED THE TEST! There's a likely chance the cake was never poisoned in the first place!"

"Huh..." Scorpia grunted, slowly letting go of Entrapta so she could stroke her chin with her claw in thought, "That... changes alot..."

"Hordak confessed to poisoning the cake because if people knew what I did," Entrapta explained, "I would have made enemies out of everyone else in Etheria. That's why Mermista stopped the investigation."

"I mean, it's sort of sweet in a Hordak kind of way..." Scorpia thought aloud, "But that means the real killer is still out there!"

"Didn't you hear me?" Entrapta argued, "There probably isn't any killer. I faked the whole thing."

"No, you said it was *likely* that no one poisoned the cake," Scorpia shot back, "That means that we still need to make sure it wasn't poisoned in the first place."

"Oh..." Entrapta said, her expression brightening up again, "Okay! Does this mean we're still friends?"

"It means we both have a mistake we need to fix," Scorpia replied, "Get out of here and meet me by hangar bays. I'll be right with you."

"Of course!" confirmed Entrapta, "Where are we going?"

"The Kingdom of the Snows," Scorpia said, "I just need to get someone before we leave."

"Not a problem!" Entrapta said as her hair grabbed onto the pipes above her head and pulled her up, "I'm just going to leave the way I came in."

Scorpia looked up as Entrapta snuck into the vents and waited for the banging and creaking to stop before walking over to the unconscious clone and shaken him awake.

"Wha-" the clone slurred groggily, "Whahamen?"

"Oh, jeez, are you okay, buddy?" asked Scorpia, "A big pipe came falling from the ceiling and knocked you out. I swear this place is just falling apart..."

"Yes! Quite..." the clone snapped, as he quickly got up and dusted off his robes, "I suppose we will continue this another day after we have made sure of the structural integrity of this building..."

"Good idea!" Scorpia encouraged, "Actually, I'm going to be leaving for a couple days. I'm just gonna be taking Princess Mermista back home now that she's recovered, shouldn't be too long."

"Are you sure that is..." the clone began before stopping himself, "Nevermind. I wish you safe travels, your highness."

"Aw, thanks," Scorpia said, "And don't worry, I'll let you know when I get back so we can finish... um... whatever it was you were trying to tell me."

~*~

First Analysis of the Princess of Horror Hall  
Horde Unit Pi Theta Reporting

-Subject has proven most malleable and compliant since incorporation into the greater Horde, shows excellent promise in becoming a productive servant to Horde Prime.  
-First impressions show a keen interest in our plans for rebuilding Horror Hall to Prime's specifications.  
-Shows signs of a creative and inquisitive mind... this will need to be corrected over future encounters...  
-Presentation was interrupted by the Princess needing to leave for a prior engagement in Salineas  
-Despite a frustrating need to continuously ask questions, shows no signs of intentional sedition, will continue to monitor when she returns.


End file.
